THE 
ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 


UC-NRLF 


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PANAMA-PACIFIC  EXPOSITION 

1915 


GIFT  or 


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in  2008  with  funding  from 

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THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 


The  Commission  of  the  Argentine 
Republic  takes  pleasure  in  offering 
this  volume,  descriptive  of  the  growth 
and  position  of  the  Argentine  Republic, 
as  a  souvenir  of  the  Panama-Pacific- 
Exposition  of  1915. 

HORACIO  ANASAGASTI, 

Commissioner 'Oeneral. 
San  Francisco,  May,  1916, 


364466 


Distributed  by  the 
PAN  AMERICAN  UNION 
Washington,  D.  C,  U.S.A. 

JOHN  BARRETT,  Director  General. 
Francisco  J.  Yanes,  Ass't  Director. 


THE  PAN  AMERICAN  UNION  is  the  international 
organization  and  office  maintained  by  the  twenty- 
one  American  Republics,  controlled  by  a  Governing 
Board  composed  of  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the 
United  States  and  the  Diplomatic  Representatives 
in  Washington  of  the  other  American  nations, 
administered  by  a  Director  General  and  Assistant 
Director  chosen  by  this  Board  and  assisted  by  a 
staff  of  statisticians,  compilers,  trade  experts,  trans- 
lators, editors,  librarians  and  clerks,  and  devoted  to 
the  development  of  commerce,  friendly  intercourse 
and  better  acquaintance  among  all  the  American 
Republics. 

SPECIAL  NOTE:  While  the  utmost  care  is  exer- 
cised by  the  Pan  American  Union  in  the  compila- 
tion of  the  books,  pamphlets,  and  reports  issued 
directly  by  it,  and  while  also  an  earnest  effort  is 
exerted  to  make  sure  of  the  responsibility  of  other 
publications  prepared  outside  of  this  office  but  dis- 
tributed by  it  at  the  request  of  the  various  govern- 
ments concerned,  NEITHER  THE  ORGANIZATION 
NOR  ITS  OFFICIALS  CAN  BE  HELD  RESPON- 
SIBLE FOR  INACCURACIES  WHICH  MAY  APPEAR 
THEREIN. 


The 

Argentine  Republic 


PANAMA-PACIFIC -EXPOSITION 
SAN   FRANCISCO,    1915 


I 


Ao 


Copyrighted,  1915,  by 
The  Argentine  Commission  of  the  Panama-Pacific- 
Exposition,  San  Francisco,  1915 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Press  of 
J.  J.  Little  &  Ives  Co. 

New  York 


Argentine 
National  Commission 

PANAMA-PACIFIC  EXPOSITION, 
SAN  FRANCISCO,  1915 


President 
DR.  ANGEL  GALLARDO 

Vice-Presidents 

MR.  AGUSTIN  DE  ELIA 

DR.  FRANCISCO  A.  BARROETAVENA 

Treasurer 
MR.  ELISEO  F.  CANAVERI 

Members 

ENGINEER  HORACIO  ANASAGASTI 

DR.  ABEL  BENGOLEA 

DR.  CUPERTINO  DEL  CAMPO 

ARCH.  JULIO  DORMAL 

MR.  CARLOS  GUERRERO 

MR.  GUSTAVO  HERTEN 

MR.  JUAN  B.  MIGNAQUY 

ENGINEER  DOMINGO  NOCETI 

ENGINEER  LUIS  F.  NOUGUES 

MR.  RICARDO  PILLADO 

MR.  LUIS  E.  ZUBERBUHLER 

Commissioner-General 
ENGINEER  HORACIO  ANASAGASTI 


ARGENTINE   COMMISSION 

AT  THE 

PANAMA-PACIFIC  EXPOSITION 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  1915 


Commissioner-General 
ENGINEER  HORACIO  ANASAGASTI 

Special  Delegate  of  Fine  Arts 
DR.  CUPERTINO  DEL  CAMPO 

Vice-Commissioner  General  and  Commissioner  of 

Agriculture 

MR.  ENRIQUE  M.  NELSON 

Commissioner  of  Education  and  Social  Economy 
MR.  ERNESTO  NELSON 

Delegate  from  the  Ministry  of  Justice  and  Public  Instruction 

Secretary  General  and  Live-Stock  Commissioner 
MR.  LUIS  VERNET  BASAULDO 

Executive  Secretary 
MR.  ALBERTO  M.  D'ALKAINE 

Commissioner  of  Liberal  Arts  and  Transportation 
ENGINEER  SALVADOR  POSITANO 

Comraissioner  of  Varied  Industries  and 

Food  Products 

ENGINEER  EUSEBIO  GARCIA 


Commissioner  in  Charge  of  the  Information  Bureau 
DR.  GUILLERMO  KOCH 

> 

Sub-Commissioner  of  Fine  Arts 
MR.  JUAN  CARLOS  OLIVA  NAVARRO 

Sub-Commissioner  of  Agriculture 
MR.  H.  M.  CURREN 

Honorary  Assistant 
MR.  ALFREDO  J.  DECK 

Assistants 

MR.  HERMAN  BUCHER 

MR.  ENRIQUE  HAYMES 

MR.  ARTURO  FAUZON 

MR.  GUILLERMO  L.  AGUIRRE 

MR.  LUIS  FRUGONI 


INTRODUCTION 

In  order  to  add  clearness  to  the  brief  de- 
scription of  the  Argentine  Republic  presented 
in  this  little  work,  it  has  been  thought  desir- 
able to  depart  from  the  traditional  method  of 
submitting  a  mass  of  statistical  and  historic 
matter  and,  instead,  to  furnish  a  rapid,  though 
comprehensive,  survey  of  the  main  features  of 
interest,  such  as  will  at  once  convey  to  the 
reader  the  actual  situation  and  potentialities 
of  the  "Land  of  the  Silver  River." 

For  the  fulfilment  of  this  purpose,  it  has 
been  necessary  to  closely  condense  the  facts 
and  figures  relating  to  the  growth  of  the  Ar- 
gentine Repubhc,  to  its  Constitution,  laws, 
commerce,  the  high  standard  of  its  culture 
and  the  protection  afforded,  without  distinc- 
tion, to  all  residents  within  its  territories,  by 
the  national  charter  of  its  freedom  and  by  the 
advanced  nature  of  its  legislation. 

The  character  and  scope  of  the  Argentine 

9 


10  .    INTBODUCTTON 

exhibits  at  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition  elo- 
quently testify  to  the  importance  of  the  Re- 
public as  a  field  for  an  interchange  of  com- 
merce with  the  United  States,  and,  it  is  hoped, 
that  the  statements  and  suggestions  contained 
in  this  volume  will  add  impetus  to  the  obviously 
growing  desire  to  strengthen  the  commercial 
and  friendly  objects  which  animates  the  peo- 
ple  of  both   countries. 

The  Argentine  Commission. 
San  Francisco,  1915. 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

SOME  OF  ITS  PHYSICAIi   FEATURES 

The  evolution  of  the  Argentine  Republic  of 
to-day  from  the  position  of  an  obscure  Spanish 
dependency  laboring  under  the  disabilities  of 
colonial  government,  into  one  of  the  great 
countries  of  the  world  whose  watchwords  are 
"progress"  and  "freedom,''  may  be  said  to 
date  from  May  25,  1810,  when  the  people  of 
Buenos  Aires  declared  their  independence  and 
established  the  United  Provinces  of  the  River 
Plate.  From  that  date  forward,  until  May 
£5,  1853,  when  the  Federal  Constitution  of 
the  Argentine  Republic  was  proclaimed  at 
Santa  Fe  and  even  to  a  later  period,  the  his- 
tory of  that  country  bears  many  points  of 
resemblance  to  the  early  history  of  the  United 
States.  Just  as  the  United  States  had  to  sub- 
due savage  Indians,  to  enter  into  war  and  to 
offer  great  sacrifices  to  develop  the  resources 

11 


12      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

of  vast  uninhabited  territories  In  order  to  es- 
tablish the  principles  of  liberty  and  justice, 
the  Argentine  Republic  has  successfully  con- 
quered the  same  difficulties  and,  to-day,  Is 
Inviting  the  rest  of  the  world  to  add  to  its  de- 
velopments and  to  share  Its  wealth.  In  the 
disposition  of  Its  territories,  in  Its  form  of 
government  and  In  Its  constitution  and  laws, 
the  Argentine  Republic  has  modelled  Its  policy 
upon  that  of  the  United  States. 

Situated  In  the  southern  portion  of  South 
America,  the  Republic,  which  Is  divided  Into 
fourteen  Provinces  (States)  and  ten  National 
Territories,  Is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Bolivia, 
Paraguay  and  Brazil;  on  the  east  by  Para- 
guay, Brazil  and  Uruguay;  and  on  the  south 
and  west  by  Chile.  It  embraces  the  most  impor- 
tant sections  of  the  vast  estuary  of  the  River 
Plate,  with  Its  entire  line  of  coast  on  the  At- 
lantic Ocean.  Within  Its  extensive  areas,  cov- 
ering about  1,150,000  square  miles,  the  possi- 
bilities of  production  are  practically  unlimited 
owing  to  the  wealth  of  the  soil  and  the  variety 
of  Its  climate,  which  Includes  the  sub-tropical, 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      13 

the  temperate  and  the  cold  regions.  Yet,  in 
none  of  these  is  to  be  found  the  extreme,  as  may 
be  judged  by  health  statistics  and  by  the  figures 
of  the  rates  of  mortality  and  longevity,  which 
are  respectively  lower  and  higher  than  in  any 
country  of  Europe. 

Geographically,  the  Argentine  Republic  may 
be  divided  into  three  sections:  the  western,  or 
Andine,  the  Pampean,  and  the  Mesopotamian. 
The  western  is  mountainous  and  comprises  the 
long  strip  sheltered  by  the  Cordillera  of  the 
Andes  and  its  ramifications.  It  contains 
numerous  valleys  of  varied  character  and 
abounds  in  mineral  wealth.  The  northern  and 
Andine  provinces  and  the  western  part  of  the 
southern  territories  are  included  in  this  division. 
The  Pampean  section  embraces  the  southern 
and  central  part  of  the  Repubhc  from  the 
eastern  portions  of  the  Province  of  Salta,  with 
the  Territories  of  Formosa  and  the  Chaco, 
down  to  the  territories  in  the  south;  they  in- 
clude the  plains  stretching  south  and  extend- 
ing through  the  rich  Provinces  of  Santa  Fe 
and  Buenos  Aires.     This  section,  as  its  name 


14      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

indicates,  is  one  vast  plain  rolling  towards  the 
south-east.  It  is  crossed  by  innumerable  rivers 
and  streams  which  descend  from  the  Andes, 
and  either  lose  themselves  In  the  Pampa,  or 
become  tributaries  of  the  great  river  system  of 
the  Parana,  or  flow  on  till  they  join  the  At- 
lantic Ocean.  In  this  section  there  are  some 
few  isolated  ranges  of  hills,  besides  numerous 
lakes  and  lagoons  with  swamps  and  salt 
marshes,  while  a  rich  and  varied  vegetation 
gives  sustenance  to  millions  of  cattle.  The 
Mesop^amian  section  lies  between  the  Rivers 
Parana  and  Uruguay  and  comprises  the 
Provinces  of  Entre  Rios  and  Corrientes,  and 
the  territory  of  Misiones.  At  Its  southern  ex- 
tremity is  the  beautiful  delta  of  the  Parana, 
studded  with  islands  of  rich  soil  and  fertile 
vegetation.  Advancing  northwards,  the  land 
becomes  undulating  with  tree-clad  hill  slopes, 
intersected  by  a  network  of  rivulets  and 
streams  which  water  rich  meadows  and  wood- 
land and  stretch  to  the  north  over  a  great 
part  of  the  Province  of  Corrientes.  Here  the 
land   dips   In   a   remarkable   manner,   forming 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC       15 

great  lagoons  and  marshes  and  once  more 
changes  its  character  in  the  Territory  of 
Misiones,  where  hills  abound,  covered  with  for- 
ests which  extend  far  inland.  ^^  There  are  also 
various  systems  and  ranges  of  mountains,  the 
principal  chain  being  that  of  the  Andes,  which 
extends  from  north  to  south  as  far  as  Tierra 
del  Fuego,  and  constitutes  a  giant  boundary 
wall  between  Argentina  and  Chile;  but  even 
the  barrier  created  by  this  great  chain  of 
mountains — at  some  points  of  a  height  ap- 
proaching 15,000  feet — to  rapid  communica- 
tion between  the  two  countries  has  been  re- 
moved by  the  opening  of  railway  communica- 
tion which  now  permits  of  the  journey  from 
one  side  of  the  mountains  to  the  other,  to  be 
performed,  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year, 
in  a  comparatively  few  hours. 

Other  physical  features  of  the  Argentine 
Republic  have  been  so  much  more  fully  re- 
ferred to  elsewhere  in  these  pages  that  it  is 
merely  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  this 
brief  sketch  to  make  some  reference  to  the  Con- 
stitution in  its  relation  to  national  progress.  ^ 


16      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

As  stated  above,  the  Federal  Constitution  of 
the  Argentine  Republic  is  almost  a  counterpart 
of  the  American  Constitution  and  is  based 
upon  the  broadest  principles  of  liberty  and 
justice,  with  even  fewer  limitations  in  regard 
to  foreign  residents  than  are  imposed  by  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Nor  is 
there  any  doubt  that  in  an  almost  equal  de- 
gree to  its  great  natural  resources,  the  remark- 
able development  and  advance  of  the  Republic 
is  due  to  its  liberal  Constitution  and  to  the 
legislation  enacted  in  terms  of  its  provisions. 
The  principles  it  embodies  have  been  carried 
into  practice  in  all  its  laws.  In  that  Republic 
there  is  perfect  religious  and  civil  freedom; 
there  are  no  restrictions  upon  healthy  immi- 
gration, or  upon  the  nationality  of  land  own- 
ers. The  right  is  accorded  to  every  inhabitant, 
native  or  foreign,  to  engage  in  any  lawful  com- 
merce or  occupation,  to  petition  the  authori- 
ties, to  enter,  remain  upon,  travel  over,  or  leave 
Argentine  territory  at  will;  and  to  use  and 
dispose  of  property  and  to  form  part  of  any 
society  or  association  having  lawful  purposes. 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC       17 

Under  its  provisions  the  right  of  property  is 
inviolate  and  prerogatives  of  blood,  of  birth, 
or  titles  of  nobility  are  not  recognized,  all  men 
being  equal  under  the  law.  The  composition 
of  the  judiciary,  the  executive  and  the  legisla- 
tive branches  of  government,  differs  only  from 
that  of  the  United  States  in  that  all  judges  are 
appointed  and  not  elected. 

Each  of  the  fourteen  Provinces  of  the  Re- 
public has  its  own  Constitution,  which  cannot 
be  in  conflict  with  the  Federal  Constitution 
which  provides  a  necessarily  limited  degree  of 
autonomy  in  the  government  of  the  Provinces. 
The  Federal  Constitution  prohibits  the  State 
Government  from  usurping  such  functions  of 
the  Federal  Government  as  entering  into  trea- 
ties with  foreign  Powers,  enacting  laws  af- 
fecting interstate  or  foreign  commerce,  navi- 
gation, citizenship,  naturalization,  the  coining 
of  money,  or  the  establishment  of  custom 
houses.  The  organization  of  its  tribunals  and 
the  creation  of  its  own  laws  and  forms  of 
procedure  is  an  absolute  State  right;  but  the 
Federal,  Civil,  Commercial,  Penal  and  Mining 


18      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

Laws  are  in  force  throughout  the  Republic, 
the  Custom  Houses  and  Tariffs  being  also 
under  the  supreme  control  of  the  Federal 
Government.  These  restricted  autonomous 
powers  were  wisely  provided  to  prevent  the 
conflict  of  laws  which  is  of  frequent  oc- 
currence under  other  Federal  systems.  The 
protection  of  the  moral  and  material  interests 
of  foreign  residents  of  the  Republic,  or  of 
foreigners  having  interests  therein,  is  scrupu- 
lously enforced  by  the  Courts  according  to  the 
Constitution  where  such  questions  are  in- 
volved; and  frequent  decisions  have  been  given 
by  the  Federal  Tribunals  in  that  direction  in 
order  to  maintain  the  inviolability  of  the  Con- 
stitution which  was  framed  in  the  interest  of 
the  Argentine  nation  and  of  "all  the  people  of 
the  world  who  may  reside  in  Argentine  ter- 
ritory." 

THE    PROGEESS    OF    TWO    DECADES 

In  the  succeeding  review  of  the  progress 
achieved  by  the  Argentine  Republic  during  the 
past   twenty   years,   by   a   comparison   of   the 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      19 

facts  and  figures  relating  largely  to  commer- 
cial movement,  uniformity  of  date  has  been 
overlooked  and  particular  years  have  been  se- 
lected, in  some  cases,  for  the  reason  that  of- 
ficial figures  have  not  been  available  to  equal- 
ize the  comparisons,  although  most  of  the 
figures  given  are  embraced  within  the  period 
named. 

The  factors  which,  in  a  material  sense,  con- 
tribute chiefly  to  the  progress  of  a  nation,  are 
its  sources  of  production,  its  means  of  com- 
munication both  within  and  beyond  its  terri- 
tories, its  domestic  and  fiscal  legislation  and 
the  labor  and  enterprise  of  its  people.  It  is 
therefore  to  these  matters  that  it  is  princi- 
pally intended  to  draw  attention,  in  so  far  as 
they  pertain  to  the  national  industries,  to  home 
and  foreign  trade,  to  railways,  to  ports  and 
shipping,  to  finance  and  to  the  general  advance 
in  all  matters  of  a  kindred  nature ;  and  as  this 
purpose  will  be  better  served  by  a  straight- 
forward and  concise  formulation  of  official 
figures  shorn  of  all  comment  which  might  tend 
to  obscure  their  real  significance,  the  form  in 


20      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

which  they  are  presented  will  convey,  at  a 
glance,  the  extraordinary  growth  of  the  Ar- 
gentine Republic: 

Area  Under  Cultivation 

The  area  under  cultivation  in  1892 
for  Wheat,  Linseed,  Corn,  Alfalfa,  and 
similar  products  totalled  8,700,000  hec- 
tares (250  hectares  being  equal  to 
nearly  one  square  mile)  and  in  1912 
to  22,987,726  hectares,  showing  an  in- 
crease of  the  cultivated  areas  of  more 
than  six  times  the  extent  of  twenty  years 
previously. 

Exports    and    Imports 

In  1895  the  total  exports  of  the  Argen- 
tine Republic  amounted  to  $120,067,790, 
and  the  total  imports  for  the  same  year 
to  $95,096,438,  whilst  in  1913  the  value 
of  the  exports  reached  $483,504,547,  and 
the  imports  $421,352,542.* 

Mileage  of  Railways 

In  1895  the  total  length  of  railways 
in  operation  was  8,820  miles  and  in  1913 
21,000  miles,  with  many  thousands  more 
projected  and  since  placed  under  con- 
struction. 

-  All  figures  relating  to  money  signify  gold  dollars,  except 
where  otherwise  stated. 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      21 

Tonnage   of   Shipping 

The  aggregate  tonnage  of  vessels  en- 
tered at  and  cleared  from  Argentine  ports 
in  the  year  1900  was  25,241,618,  whilst 
in  1913  the  total  tonnage  was  56,604,- 
883.79. 

Population 

The  national  census  of  1869  gave  the 
population  of  the  country  as  1,830,214, 
whereof  the  city  of  Buenos  Aires  had  187,- 
346  inhabitants.  According  to  the  census 
of  1895,  the  total  population  amounted 
to  3,954,911,  with  that  of  the  capital  at 
663,854.  A  new  census,  taken  May, 
1913,  is  now  being  compiled,  but  from  fig- 
ures supplied  we  know  the  population  of 
the  city  was  at  that  time  1,560,000  inhabi- 
tants. According  to  the  Division  of  Sta- 
tistical and  Rural  Economy,  the  entire 
population  of  the  Republic  in  1911  was 
estimated  to  be  7,467,878.  The  latter 
figures  are  necessarily  based  upon  incom- 
plete returns  and  have  probably  been  esti- 
mated upon  a  ratio  of  increase  established 
by  earlier  calculations ;  but  all  indications 
point  to  the  probability  that  on  the  com- 
pletion of  the  new  census,  during  the  pres- 
ent year,  the  total  population  of  the  Re- 
public will  approach  10,000,000. 

Investment    of    Foreign   Capital 

The  investment   of   foreign   capital   in 
the  Argentine  Republic  has  assumed  far 


22      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

greater  proportions  during  the  past 
twenty  years  than  in  any  other  corre- 
sponding period  since  its  formation.  As 
one  example  of  importance,  it  may  be 
stated  that  the  total  capital  invested  in 
private  and  government-owned  railways 
in  the  year  1895  amounted  to  $485,360,- 
121,  whilst  in  1913  the  capital  employed 
in  railways  operating  in  the  Argentine 
Republic  reached  $1,210,475,331,  of  which 
over  ninety  per  cent  is  British.  In  1895 
the  foreign  capital  invested  in  the  Re- 
public, including,  at  that  time,  about 
$400,000,000  of  External  National  Debt, 
barely  exceeded  $1,000,000,000.  An  offi- 
cial estimate  of  foreign  capital  invested  in 
the  country  at  the  end  of  1910  gave  the 
following  figures : 

$Gold 

1.  Loans  and  various  Ar- 

gentine Bonds 691,831,000 

2.  Railways 804,413,000 

3.  Banks   37,541,000 

4.  Ports    22,164,000 

5.  Street  car  lines 91,576,000 

6.  Freezing  plants 8,392,000 

7.  Gas  and  electric  com- 

panies, water  works 

and  sanitary  works.         58,035,000 

8.  Land    and    loan    com- 

panies           160,800,000 

9.  Other  companies 41,650,000 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      23 

10.  Mortgages    and   prop- 

erties         150,000,000 

11.  Commerce  and  credit.  .       200,000,000 


Grand  total $2,266,402,000 

Gold    Reserves 

The  vast  increase  in  exports  during 
latter  years  has  naturally  attracted  con- 
siderable imports  of  gold;  and,  as  show- 
ing the  wealth  and  stability  of  the  Re- 
public, it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  Con- 
version Fund  created  by  law  in  1901  to 
secure  the  national  issues  of  paper  and 
nickel  currency  (which  was  then  to  con- 
sist of  appropriations  from  certain 
sources  of  revenue  until  a  total  of  $30,- 
000,000  had  been  obtained)  showed  at 
December  31st,  1913,  gold  reserves  in  the 
Caja  de  Conversion  to  be  $233,197,727, 
or  considerably  more  than  60  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  issues  of  paper  and  nickel 
currency. 

Custom    House    Revenue 

The  Custom  House  Revenue  on  import 
duties  for  1903  amounted  to  $37,191,857, 
and  in  1913  to  $98,978,745. 

When  it  is  remembered  that  the  Argentine 
Republic   covers   an   area   of   about   one-third 


24      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

of  the  United  States  and  that  up  to  the  pres- 
ent time  not  nearly  one-fifth  of  its  productive 
soil  has  been  placed  under  cultivation,  the 
figures  relating  to  its  production  will  leave  lit- 
tle doubt  that  the  world,  in  the  not.  distant 
future,  will  find  in  that  favored  land  one  of 
the  main  sources  of  its  food  supply.  But  it  is 
not  alone  in  the  development  of  the  agricul- 
tural and  pastoral  industries  that  the  great 
.advance  of  the  Republic  is  to  be  noted.  In 
every  form  of  national  activity  the  forward 
march  of  the  Argentine  Republic  has  made  it- 
self felt  far  beyond  its  own  borders;  while 
from  a  purely  commercial  point  of  view  it  has 
become  a  centre  of  universal  interest  and  has 
added  materially  to  the  enrichment  of  the  com- 
merce of  many  of  the  countries  of  Europe. 

In  legislation  there  have  been  many  notable 
advances  during  the  past  twenty  years  and,  in 
some  cases,  examples  worthy  of  being  fol- 
lowed by  older  communities.  Amongst  the 
most  important  legislative  measures,  those 
dealing  with  immigration,  colonization,  electo- 
ral reform,  land  settlement,  education,  labor. 


ONE    OF    THE    RECEPTION    ROOMS    OF    THE    ARGENTINE 
PAVILION    AT    THE    PANAMA    PACIFIC    EXPOSITION 


ANOTHER  INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  THE  ARGENTINE  PAVILION 
AT  THE  PANAMA  PACIFIC  EXPOSITION  WHERE  THE 
ARTISTIC  RICHNESS  OF  THE  MURAL  DECORATIONS 
CAN  BE  APPRECIATED 


1 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      £5 

animal  and  sanitary  laws,  may  be  singled  out 
for  special  mention.  The  immigration  laws 
have  been  framed,  since  their  inception,  with  a 
view  to  inviting  foreigners  to  share  in  the  de- 
velopment and  enjoyment  of  the  national 
wealth.  No  restrictions  are  imposed  upon  the 
entry  of  immigrants  other  than  those  which 
have  for  their  object  the  exclusion  of  the  crim- 
inal classes  or  persons  who  are  physically  or 
mentally  unsound.  Not  only  can  the  immigrant 
acquire  rich  government  land  on  conditions  unr 
equalled  in  other  new  countries,  but  provision 
is  also  made  for  the  supply  of  the  necessary 
funds  to  furnish  the  colonist  with  implements 
and  other  equipment  to  enable  him  to  reap  an 
ample  reward  for  his  labors.  The  naturaliza- 
tion laws  impose  no  difficulties  in  the  acquisi- 
tion of  citizenship,  although  there  is  absolute 
freedom  on  the  part  of  the  alien  resident  to 
hold  land  and  property  and  to  enjoy  all  the 
privileges  conferred  upon  inborn  citizens,  ex- 
cept that  of  voting  at  Congressional  or  Presi- 
dential elections.  Even  certain  public  posi- 
tions may  be  held  by  foreigners  without  nat- 


26      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

uralizatlon.  In  electoral  matters,  the  law  re- 
cently passed  to  enforce  compulsory  voting  at 
elections  has  already  produced  excellent  re- 
sults and  has  succeeded  in  removing  attempts 
at  coercion  and  the  exercise  of  undue  influ- 
ence in  the  return  of  candidates  for  elective 
oflSces;  and  most  of  these  legislative  reforms 
have  been  effected  during  the  past  twenty 
years. 

Although  not  precisely  within  the  period 
under  review,  the  enactment  of  the  Conversion 
Law  of  1891  has  had  such  far-reaching  ef- 
fects upon  the  financial  situation  and  general 
stability  of  the  Republic  that  it  should  not 
be  omitted  from  a  record  of  national  legisla- 
tion dating  from  even  four  years  later.  Prior 
to  the  passage  of  that  law,  violent  fluctuations 
in  the  premium  of  gold,  induced  by  specula- 
tion, led  to  so  much  disturbance  of  commerce 
as  to  render  it  necessary  to  place  the  national 
currency  on  a  more  substantial  basis.  With 
that  object  in  view  an  average  was  taken  and 
the  value  of  paper  currency  was  fixed  by  the 
law  at  44  per  cent  of  the  value  of  gold,  in 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      27 

other  words,  making  $227.27,  currency,  equal 
to  $100  gold.  The  law  further  provided  for 
the  establishment  of  a  Conversion  Fund,  which 
was  to  be  formed  by  the  appropriation  of  cer- 
tain sources  of  revenue  and  to  be  added  to  by 
annual  increments  until  it  reached  a  total  of 
$30,000,000  gold,  which  with  the  gold  reserves 
then  existing  and  to  be  accumulated  were  to 
be  employed  exclusively  for  the  public  ex- 
change of  gold  and  paper  at  the  rate  fixed. 
As  shown  in  the  figures  relating  to  gold  re- 
serves, the  accumulation  of  gold  held  in  the 
Caja  de  Conversion  for  the  purposes  of  the  law, 
at  December  31,  1913,  amounted  to  $233,- 
197,727,  representing  upwards  to  60  per  cent 
of  the  entire  national  currency  in  circulation, 
a  proportion  not  exceeded  by  any  other  coun- 
try of  the  world;  and  with  the  resumption  of 
exports  upon  a  normal  scale,  which  will  con- 
stantly bring  more  gold  to  the  Republic,  the 
relation  of  gold  reserves  to  currency  issues  will, 
in  a  comparatively  short  time,  be  such  as  to 
justify  the  creation  of  a  definite  and  exclusive 


28      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

gold  standard  as  the  monetary  system  of  the 
Republic. 

The  Argentine  Republic  has  achieved  many 
triumphs  in  diplomacy  and  many  legitimately 
claim  to  have  made  new  international  law  for 
all  the  countries  of  the  American  continent. 
One  of  the  most  important  steps  yet  taken  in 
this  direction  was  the  formulation,  in  1902, 
of  the  now  universally  accepted  doctrine  estab- 
lishing the  principle  that  contractual  debts  by 
Sovereign  States  to  foreign  private  subjects, 
or  citizens,  should  not  be  collected  by  the  em- 
ployment of  armed  forces.  This  doctrine  was 
propounded  by  the  then  Argentine  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  in  a  Note  addressed  to  the 
United  States  Government  as  the  result  of  the 
occupation,  at  that  time,  of  the  territorial 
waters  of  an  independent  state  by  the  warships 
of  some  of  the  European  Powers,  for  the 
avowed  purpose  of  compelling  payment  to  their 
subject  of  claims  for  damages  and  for  the 
fulfilment  of  the  service  of  a  national  debt  due 
to  foreign  creditors  and  then  in  default.  This 
Note  aroused  world-wide  attention  and  the  sub- 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      29 

ject  was  dealt  with  diplomatically  by  many  of 
the  countries  of  Europe  which  had  commercial 
relations  with  the  Latin-American  Republics, 
It  formed  the  subject  of  frequent  discussion  at 
various  Pan-American  Congresses,  and  was 
particularly  favored  in  the  United  States, 
where,  subject  to  certain  slight  modifications, 
it  was  regarded  as  a  logical  pendant  to  the 
Monroe  Doctrine.  At  the  Second  Interna- 
tional Peace  Conference  at  the  Hague,  in  1907, 
the  Doctrine  was  submitted  for  the  approval  of 
the  Conference  by  the  American  Delegation 
with  slight  modifications  and  was  accepted, 
without  dissent,  by  the  Delegates  of  all  the 
countries  represented.  It  is  not  necessary  here 
to  enter  into  a  discussion  of  the  merits  or  im- 
portance of  this  Argentine  doctrine.  Suffice  it 
to  add,  however,  that  the  negation  of  its  main 
purpose  would  be  to  endanger  the  existence  of 
the  Monroe  Doctrine  by  shattering  the  prin- 
cipal object  with  which  that  policy  was  con- 
ceived  and   established. 

Another    great    international    movement    In 
which  the  Argentine  Republic  assumed  a  lead- 


so      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

ing  part  and  which  is  likely  to  have  far-reach- 
ing effects  in  advancing  the  friendly  relations 
of  the  United  States  with  the  sister  American 
RepubHcs,  was  the  recent  mediation  of  the 
"A.  B.  C."  Powers  (Argentine,  Brazil  and 
Chile).  The  events  of  that  particular  time  are 
too  fresh  in  the  memory  of  the  American  pub- 
lic to  need  description  of  detail.  It  is  suf- 
ficient to  say  that  the  mediation  referred  to 
averted  a  war  which  would  probably  have  in- 
volved the  sacrifice  of  countless  lives  and  of 
countless  millions.  But  the  initiation  of  the 
policy  of  mediation  entered  into  on  that  oc- 
casion has  even  more  importance  than  that 
which  attaches  to  it  as  having  prevented  a 
great  and  unnecessary  war.  It  has  served, 
firstly,  to  show  that  the  great  advance  made 
by  the  leading  South  American  Republics  is 
not  merely  an  advance  made  for  selfish  pur- 
poses, but  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  of  the 
Latin  nations  of  the  American  continent.  The 
great  statesmen  of  those  countries,  whilst 
recognizing  the  occasionally  intemperate  pohti- 
cal  acts  which  take  place  in  some  of  the  lesser 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      31 

Republics,  have  placed  a  cloak  of  protection 
around  the  weaker  sisters  of  their  countries  to 
prevent  attacks  upon  their  national  indepen- 
dence and  sovereignty.  By  their  offer  of  medi- 
ation in  the  critical  situation  which  had  then 
arisen  on  this  continent,  they  also  gave  birth 
to  a  policy  which,  independently  of  its  humane 
aspect,  is  calculated  to  secure  the  real  objects 
of  legitimate  Pan-Americanism.  The  United 
States  has  invariably  exhibited  a  spirit  of  jus- 
tice and  of  generosity  in  all  its  relations  with  the 
other  American  Republics,  and  the  "A.  B.  C." 
mediation  has  not  only  strengthened  this 
wise  policy  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
but  has  demonstrated  the  capacity  and  the  in- 
fluence, without  actual  intervention,  of  the 
most  important  Latin  Republics  to  save  the 
less  advanced  countries  from  a  sacrifice  of 
their  national  independence. 

Still  another  step  of  diplomatic  importance 
has  recently  been  taken  by  the  Argentine  Am- 
bassador at  Washington  by  a  submission  of  a 
lengthy  resolution  to  the  governing  body  of 
the   Pan-American   Union    (consisting   of  the 


32      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States  and 
the  Ambassadors  and  Ministers  of  the  other 
twenty  American  Republics)  with  a  view  to 
providing  means  for  the  restriction  of  hos- 
tilities by  belligerents  In  neutral  waters.  This 
course  was  adopted  in  consequence  of  the  hard- 
ships and  difficulties  imposed  on  the  South 
American  Republics  and  on  other  neutral  coun- 
tries through  the  present  war  in  Europe  and 
through  the  prevailing  indefinite  character  of 
the  international  rules  and  of  international  law 
in  the  definition  of  the  respective  rights  of  neu- 
trals and  belligerents.  Whilst  it  would  be  dif- 
ficult to  assume  that  any  reforms  will  be  ef- 
fected during  the  continuance  of  the  present 
war  in  Europe  or  immediately  thereafter,  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  substantive 
portions  of  the  Argentine  Ambassador's  reso- 
lution will  influence  succeeding  International 
•Conferences  to  so  regulate  these  vital  matters 
as  to  confine  naval  operations  within  limits 
which,  In  future  wars,  will  not  place  so  heavy 
a  burden  upon  the  coastal  and  oversea  trade 
of  neutral  countries. 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      33 

In  its  relations  with  the  different  countries 
of  the  world  the  Republic  enjoys  the  most 
friendly  intercourse  and  shares  the  privileges 
accorded  to  the  great  Powers  in  international 
commercial  treaties.  It  has  never  failed  to 
fulfil  its  national  obligations  either  at  home  or 
abroad;  it  has  no  ambitions  for  territorial  ex- 
pansion and  desires  only  to  maintain  internal 
and  external  peace  in  order  to  extend  the  coun- 
try's material  prosperity  and  the  welfare  of 
its  inhabitants. 

PRIMARY    EDUCATION 

Primary  Education  owes  its  present  state 
of  development  to  that  master  Patriot,  Peda- 
gogue and  President  of  the  Republic,  Domingo 
F.  Sarmiento,  who  as  a  personal  friend  and 
student  of  the  noted  American  Educator  had 
every  opportunity  to  introduce  the  best  that 
he  considered  practicable  into  the  educational 
system  of  Argentina. 

The  education  of  youth  of  Argentina  is  the 
concern  of  state  authorities  who  work  in  har- 
mony with  the  educational  bodies  of  its  cities, 


34      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

towns  and  villages.  The  exception  to  it  con- 
sists in  the  control  of  the  Primary  schools  of 
the  Federal  city  of  Buenos  Aires  by  the  Na- 
tional Board  of  Education,  together  with  some 
other  exceptions  to  be  mentioned  later  on. 

One  of  the  more  recent  and  far-reaching  de- 
velopments of  this  Federal  control  is  the  fact, 
that  in  some  of  the  provinces  (States)  Primary 
schools  are  established  and  subsidized  by  the 
Federal  Government,  where  local  conditions  are 
equal  to  the  needs  of  popular  education. 

Argentina  maintains  therefore  in  some  of 
the  provinces  the  regular  State  controlled  as 
well  as  Federal  Government  controlled  Primary 
schools;  likewise  are  many  of  the  Special  type 
schools  controlled  by  the  National  Government. 

In  1894<  there  were  3000  Primary  schools. 
Public  and  Private,  which  increased  during  the 
next  twenty  years  to  7877  schools;  likewise 
did  the  teaching  force  of  these  schools  grow 
from  7800  to  over  26,000  teachers.  The  pupils 
attending  these  Primary  schools  in  1894  num- 
bered 280,000,  whereas  in  1914  the  attendance 
increased  to  890,000  pupils.    The  expenditures 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      35 

incurred  for  the  maintenance  of  these  schools 
show  an  even  more  remarkable  increase  of 
service  and  efficiency.  The  total  expenses  for 
Primary  Education  in  1894*  were  9,370,000 
pesos ;  in  1914  the  expenditures  rose  to  a  figure, 
six  times  that  of  1894,  56,635,000  pesos. 

In  1894  the  Normal  schools,  35  in  number, 
had  an  enrollment  of  1376  pupils,  preparing 
themselves  for  the  teaching  career  in  Primary 
schools;  in  the  year  of  1914  the  number  of 
Normal  schools  increased  to  over  70  in  num- 
ber and  the  enrollment  to  8970  students,  more 
than  six  times  of  its  enrollment  twenty  years 
ago.  During  this  same  period  the  expenditures 
in  this  particular  department  of  public  educa- 
tion rose  from  2,000,000  pesos  to  that  of 
10,000,000  pesos. 

SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

The  Secondary  schools  are  responding  also 
to  the  modern  demands  of  a  democratic  con- 
ception of  education.  From  mere  preparatory 
institutions  for  the  Universities  they  are  fast 


/ 

36      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

becoming  schools  of  advanced  education  to  an 
increasing  number  of  men  and  women. 

In  1894*  the  students  of  Secondary  schools 
numbered  8000,  which  number  rose  to  10,000 
in  1914,  the  expenditures  having  increased 
from  1,000,000  pesos  to  nearly  6,000,000  pesos 
in  the  year  of  1914. 

TECHNICAI.     EDUCATION 

Technical  education  is  also  a  matter  of  recent 
development,  there  having  been  organized  and 
are  maintained  in  flourishing  condition  two 
distinct  types  of  technical  schools.  One  kind 
provides  technical  training  in  the  various  trades 
for  young  men  from  12  to  15  years,  while  the 
second  type  serve  to  train  the  young  men  for 
positions  as  foremen  and  superintendents.  For 
this  purpose  these  schools  give  a  more  extensive 
and  intensive  instruction  along  theoretical  and 
practical  science  as  far  as  it  applies  to  these 
various  trades.  There  ore  4  large  schools  of 
each  one  of  these  two  types,  supported  and 
controlled  by  the  National  Government  at  a 
yearly  expense  of  1%  millions  of  pesos.     In 


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THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      37 

addition  to  these,  there  are  15  Trade  schools 
for  girls,  also  under  the  control  of  the  National 
Government,  giving  instructions  in  the  trades 
wherein  girls  predominate,  such  as  millinery, 
dressmaking,  flower-making,  telegraph  opera- 
tors, stenographers  and  typewriters,  glove- 
making,  and  so  forth. 

COMMERClAli    EDUCATION 

Of  recent  development  and  also  under  con- 
trol of  the  National  Government  are  the  Com- 
mercial schools  for  men  and  women,  which  pro- 
vide adequate  modern  instruction  in  salesman- 
ship and  bookkeeping  and  all  other  affiliated 
activities  of  commerce.  These  schools  gradu- 
ate pupils  with  the  rank  of  Bachelors  of  Com- 
mercial Science  and  also  train  the  certified 
Public  Accountants.  A  more  recent  addition 
to  the  scope  of  these  schools  is  the  Degree  of 
Doctor,  given  for  advanced  work  in  Economic 
Sciences.  The  National  Government  spends 
about  1%  millions  of  pesos  for  this  branch  of 
education. 


38      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

AGEICULTUEAIi  EDUCATION 

Agricultural  education  in  Argentina  is  of  a 
twofold  type,  general  and  special.  The  Special 
or  so-called  regional  schools,  look  towards  the 
education  of  future  workers  in  special  fields, 
such  as,  for  example,  the  sugar  industries  of 
Tucuman.  These  schools  specialize  on  the  in- 
telligent development  of  special  industries  all 
over  Argentina.  The  curriculum  of  aU  these 
schools  is  intensely  practical,  but  cover  and 
maintain  a  sufficient  scientific  background  as 
these  practical  studies  require  in  the  various 
industrial  fields.  These  schools  are  also  under 
the  control  of  the  National  Government, 
through   the   Department   of   Agriculture. 

The  schools  which  provide  for  the  thorough 
scientific  instruction  underlying  all  agricultural 
occupations  are  under  the  control  of  the 
National  Universities  of  Buenos  Aires  and 
La  Plata.  The  annual  cost  of  all  agricultural 
schools  is  about  3^/2  millions  of  pesos,  includ- 
ing the  expenses  incurred  in  the  maintenance  of 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      39 

experimental    stations,    class    excursions   and 
University  extension  teaching. 

MILITARY   EDUCATION 

Military  education  comprises  7  Army  and  9 
Navy  schools  for  machinists,  mechanics,  elec- 
tricians, the  officers  of  the  Army  and  the  Navy, 
Pilots,  Seamen  and  so  forth,  to  which  2  million 
pesos  were  devoted  in  1914.  Practical  instruc- 
tion is  offered  in  warships  and  particularly  in 
the  Training-ship  Presidente  Sarmiento,  which 
visited  the  Panama-Pacific  International  Ex- 
position at  San  Francisco  during  the  month 
of  May  of  1915,  during  her  15th  cruise  of  in- 
struction. 

UNIVERSITY  EDUCATION 

The  Universities  of  Argentina  maintain  the 
traditional  faculties  of  Jurisprudence,  Belles 
Lett  res  and  Philosophy,  Pure  and  Applied 
Science,  to  which  recently  have  been  added  such 
departments  as  Pedagogics,  Agriculture,  and 
other  newer  departments.  The  enlargement  of 
the  activities  of  these  Universities,  especially 


40      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

the  creation  of  the  University  of  La  Plata,  is 
proof  of  Argentina's  advancement  In  this  field. 
The  La  Plata  University  has  been  Instrumental 
in  the  exchange  of  Professors  and  has  encour- 
aged In  many  ways  the  visits  of  public  men  of 
note  of  Europe  and  North  America,  thus  recog- 
nizing the  desirability  of  maintaining  and  fos- 
tering the  most  pleasant  relations  between 
Europe  and  the  United  States  of  America. 

Recent  statistics  show  that  the  University 
at  Buenos  Aires  had  on  Its  register  1,051  stu- 
dents in  the  Law  Faculty;  210  In  that  of  Phil- 
osophy and  Letters;  2,501  of  Medicine;  and 
602  of  Exact  Sciences.  The  La  Plata  Univer- 
sity, according  to  the  same  figures,  had  2,184 
students,  and  the  University  of  Cordova  584. 

In  point  of  fact,  in  all  the  liberal  arts  and 
professions,  the  Argentine  Republic  takes  one 
of  the  first  places.  Literature,  Music  and  Art 
are  also  at  a  very  high  standard  and  It  Is  per- 
haps appropriate  to  mention  here  In  regard  to 
music  that  not  only  Is  its  study  general  through- 
out the  country  but,  that  in  Buenos  Aires 
alone,  there  are  upwards  of  sixty  Conservatories 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      41 

of  Music  where  instruction  is  received  in  the 
higher  branches. 

In  regard  to  the  national  defences,  Article 
21  of  the  Constitution  provides  for  compulsory 
service  by  aU  Argentine  citizens  in  defence  of 
the  country.  The  regular  army,  though  com- 
paratively small,  has  attained  a  high  state  of 
efBciency,  which  may  also  be  said  of  the  re- 
serve forces.  During  latter  years  considerable 
and  important  additions  have  been  made  to 
the  Argentine  Navy,  notably  by  the  recent  con- 
struction in  the  United  States  of  the  Rivadavia 
and  the  Moreno,  which,  to-day,  without  doubt, 
are  among  the  finest  battleships  afloat.  In  other 
naval  matters,  such  as  gunnery,  dry  docks, 
naval  bases,  armaments,  repairing  shops  and 
technical  instruction,  there  has  been  a  remark- 
able advance  in  the  last  twenty  years. 

While  the  figures  given  here  in  connection 
with  Argentine  exports  indicate  increased  pro- 
duction for  home  consumption,  it  is  also  de- 
sirable to  demonstrate  the  progress  made  by 
the  Republic  in  latter  years  in  the  establish- 
ment and  development  of  national  industries, 


42      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

as  well  as  in  exported  articles.  The  new  era 
of  industrial  expansion  which  set  in  about  the 
year  1903,  shows  equally  remarkable  advance 
in  regard  to  industries  already  then  established 
and  the  creation  of  others  which  in  time  will 
assume  considerable  importance.  Metallurgi- 
cal industries  have  made  rapid  strides  not  only 
in  numbers  but  also  in  the  value  and  extent 
of  their  production;  and,  there  is  little  doubt, 
that  as  the  exploitation  of  the  many  iron  and 
copper  mines  to  be  found  in  the  Republic  is 
proceeded  with,  this  branch  of  national  indus- 
try will  attain  still  greater  proportions.  Other 
new  industries  for  which  the  Republic  offers 
a  most  suitable  field  are  those  of  Cotton,  To- 
bacco, Textile  Fabrics,  Oils,  Rice,  Silk  and 
Forestal  productions.  Some  of  these  have 
been  largely  extended  during  the  last  ten  or 
twelve  years,  notably  those  pertaining  to  the 
production  of  hard-woods  and  their  extracts, 
furniture  and  other  wood  manufactures.  The 
latter  industries  especially  are  likely  to  receive 
a  great  impetus  through  the  action  of  the  Gov- 
ernment  in   devising   eflBcient   means    for   new 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      43 

methods  of  exploitation  and  conservation  of 
the  forests,  as  foreshadowed  in  the  Message  of 
the  President  to  Congress  in  1913. 

To  demonstrate  the  extraordinary  develop- 
ment of  the  stock  breeding  industry,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  state  that  according  to  the  last 
Agricultural  and  Livestock  Census  taken  in 
1908,  the  Republic  was  shown  to  possess  29,- 
116,625  head  of  cattle,  67,211,754  sheep,  3,- 
945,036  goats,  and  7,531,376  horses,  being  an 
increase  over  the  census  of  1895  of  approxi- 
mately 30  per  cent  in  the  number  of  head  of 
cattle  and  of  nearly  50  per  cent  in  the  num- 
ber of  horses.  This  numerical  increase,  how- 
ever, does  not  fully  express  the  high  degree  of 
development  reached  in  this  national  industry 
and  particularly  in  regard  to  cattle  and  horses. 
In  the  years  intervening  between  those  two  cen- 
suses, hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  were  ex- 
pended on  the  purchase  and  importation  of 
pedigree  stock,  which  have  placed  Argentine 
bred  animals  on  a  standard  of  equality  with 
many  of  those  raised  in  the  old  countries.  This 
may  be  seen  by  the  values  stated  in  the  re- 


44      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

spective  years  named.  In  1895  the  stock  of 
cattle  was  valued  at  $221,000,000  and  In  1908 
at  $410,000,000,  whilst  the  horses  were  valued 
in  the  first  census  at  $26,000,000,  the  value 
given  in  1908  was  over  $90,000,000. 

The  founding  in  1858  of  the  Argentine 
Rural  Society  by  a  group  of  social  spirited 
breeders  and  land  owners,  was  the  starting  point 
of  the  expansion  of  this  industry  and  owing  to 
the  ideas  and  methods  introduced  by  that  Asso- 
ciation, it  was  found  necessary  in  more  recent 
years  to  create  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture, 
which  includes  within  its  sphere  of  operations 
not  only  the  governmental  control  of  the  agri- 
cultural and  pastoral  industries,  but  also  the 
entire  range  of  the  Republic's  foreign  commerce. 
The  annual  shows  of  the  Rural  Society  in 
Buenos  Aires  attract  visitors  from  all  parts 
of  Europe  and  it  has  been  conceded  that  for 
the  variety  and  all-round  quality  of  the  ani- 
mals exhibited,  they  excel  the  regularly  estab- 
lished shows  of  Europe.  At  the  1913  exhibi- 
tion of  the  Argentine  Rural  Society,  the  lo- 
cally-bred champion  Short-horn  Bull,  "Ameri- 


^^ 


PLAZA   HOTEL,  BUENOS  AIRES 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      45 

cus,"  created  a  world's  record  by  realizing  the 
unprecedented  price  of  about  $35,000  ($80,000 
currency),  whilst  even  larger  sums  have  been 
obtained  for  yearlings  produced  in  the  country. 
Nor  is  this  surprising  when  it  is  stated  that 
Argentine  breeders  have  paid  the  highest 
known  prices  for  pure  pedigree  stock,  in 
which  general  statement  may  be  included  the 
payment  of  more  than  $150,000  each  for  three 
famous  Derby  winners.  The  breeds  of  cattle 
most  encouraged  in  Argentina  are  Shorthorns 
and  Herefords,  Lincolns  predominating  in 
Sheep  and  Clydesdales  and  Percherons  in 
Horses.  Still,  there  are  hundreds  of  millions 
of  acres  of  rich  pasture  lands  not  yet  stocked, 
so  that  when  the  time  comes  to  place  these 
vast  areas  under  cultivation,  the  nimaber  of 
animals  that  could  be  maintained  is  almost  il- 
limitable. It  should  be  further  added  that  the 
climatic  conditions  of  the  country  permit  of 
all  its  animals  being  reared  in  the  open;  and 
as  showing  the  possibilities  awaiting  those  who 
enter  this  field  of  national  industry,  it  may  be 
pointed  out  that  in  hundreds  of  cases  where 


46      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

land  has  been  rented  and  cultivated  for  the 
purpose  of  fattening  cattle,  the  lessees  have 
been  enabled  within  a  very  few  years  to  be- 
come absolute  owners  of  the  land  as  a  result  of 
their  profitable  operations. 

The  Dairy  and  Flour  industries  have  like- 
wise shown  great  improvement,  whilst  consid- 
erable promise  is  held  out  by  the  establishment 
and  development  of  other  industries,  such  as 
the  cultivation  and  export  of  fruits,  the  breed- 
ing and  fattening  of  hogs,  poultry  farming, 
bee-culture  and  the  manufacture  of  vegetable 
and  animal  oil  products. 

The  vigilant  economic  policy  undertaken  by 
the  present  government  of  the  RepubUc  is 
likely  to  exercise  a  very  beneficial  effect  upon 
the  future  of  these  and  other  industries  when 
normal  conditions  are  restored.  The  ques- 
tions of  roads,  canals,  ports,  transport  charges 
and  other  matters  which  affect  the  development 
of  commerce  were  aU  being  considered  with  a 
view  to  improvement  prior  to  the  outbreak  of 
war ;  and  even  at  the  present  time  work  is  pro- 
ceeding for  the  deepening  of  existing  channels 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      47 

and  the  extension  of  ports  and  docks.  Immi- 
gration has  necessarily  been  checked  through 
the  war,  but  when  this  disturbing  element  no 
longer  exists,  renewed  vigor  will  be  applied  to 
a  general  extension  of  industrial  establish- 
ments in  every  direction  where  the  natural  re- 
sources of  the  Republic  can  be  made  available. 

THE    ARGENTINE    REPUBLIC    IN    THE    SAN    FRAN- 
CISCO  EXPOSITION 

Of  all  the  great  Expositions  held  in  the 
United  States  to  celebrate  some  distinct  oc- 
currence or  achievement  in  the  history  of  the 
country,  none  has  assumed  the  importance  or 
splendour  of  the  World's  Fair  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, created  to  commemorate  America's  im- 
measurable service  to  the  cause  of  humanity 
by  the  construction  of  the  Panama  Canal  to 
link  up  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans.  Con- 
ceived and  decided  upon  in  times  of  general 
peace,  most  of  the  nations  of  the  earth  were 
invited  to  participate;  and  though  laboring  at 
the  time  under  certain  difSciilties  induced  by 
universally     disturbed     economic     conditions. 


48      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

many  of  the  countries  subordinated  these  con- 
siderations to  the  higher  purpose  of  cementing 
the  bonds  of  international  friendship  by  ac- 
cepting the  invitation  of  the  United  States  to 
take  part  in  the  great  Exposition  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, formed  to  crown  the  colossal  work  in- 
itiated by  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps  and  carried 
into  execution  by  American  skill,  labor  and 
courage.  Not  least  amongst  the  countries  will- 
ing to  make  sacrifices  to  share  in  this  noble 
work  was  the  Argentine  Republic  which,  in 
the  face  of  many  obstacles  to  adequate  repre- 
sentation, at  once  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the 
undertaking  and  after  assembling  its  leading 
authorities  in  all  the  branches  of  national  arts 
and  industries,  decided  to  assume  its  appropri- 
ate part  in  the  glorification  of  the  American 
Continent  by  the  effort  to  show  that  the  na- 
tions of  the  south  were  advancing  step  by  step 
with  the  great  Republic  of  the  north.  Prelimi- 
nary action  was  at  once  taken  to  organize  in- 
fluential committees  representing  all  the  States 
and  Territories  of  the  Republic,  an  immense 
sum  of  money  was  voted  by  Congress  and  full 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      49 

preparations  were  set  on  foot  to  secure  a  prac- 
tical and  eloquent  manifestation  of  the  phe- 
nomenal progress  and  of  the  social  and  politi- 
cal economy  of  the  Argentine  Republic.  No 
sooner  had  these  measures  been  adopted  than  a 
series  of  perturbations,  culminating  in  the  out- 
break of  the  war  In  Europe,  occurred  to  cre- 
ate an  unfavorable  ambient  and  to  sow  doubts 
and  mistrust  forshadowing  failure  for  the 
great  enterprise.  In  spite,  however,  of  the 
fears  and  even  of  the  opposition  thus  created, 
the  Argentine  Government  through  its  organ- 
ized Committees  proceeded  uninterruptedly 
with  the  completion  of  its  plans  and  has  been 
able  to  organize  the  most  important  represen- 
tation it  has  yet  had  in  any  foreign  Exposi- 
tion. 

The  Argentine  section  of  the  International 
Exposition  of  San  Francisco  admittedly  holds 
high  rank  in  every  aspect  of  its  participation, 
not  excluding  the  magnificence  of  its  Pavilion 
and  the  area  of  space  allotted  to  Argentine 
exhibits,  which  reflect  the  indisputable  im- 
portance and  advance  of  the  Republic.     The 


50      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

spaces  occupied  in  the  various  Palaces  of  the 
Exposition  embrace  an  area  of  8,000  square 
meters  which,  added  to  the  4,000  meters  occu- 
pied by  the  Pavilion  and  Garden,  gives  a  total 
area  of  7,000  square  meters  and  constitutes  a 
space  record  over  all  previous  exhibitions  in 
which  the  Argentine  Republic  has  so  far  as- 
sisted. The  areas  excluding  the  Pavilion  and 
Garden  are  divided  as  follows: 


66  66 


(1)  Agriculture    .  .  .  .1,140  square  meters 

(2)  Various    Products    550 

(3)  Food    Products..     385 

(4)  Education  and 

Social  Economy     320       "  " 

(5)  Liberal   Arts 230       "  « 

(6)  Mining  and  Metal- 

lurgy          215 

(7)  Fine    Arts.. 160 


Total    ...3,000 


((  <( 


The  Argentine  Pavilion,  which  has  been  ac- 
corded a  prominent  position  amongst  other 
palatial  constructions  of  the  Exposition,  con- 
veys an  expressive  idea  of  the  higher  standard 
of  national  art,  both  from  the  architectural 
and  decorative  standpoints.    In  the  centre  por- 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      51 

tion  of  the  Pavilion  there  is  a  beautiful  Con- 
ference Hall  and  a  spacious  gallery  in  which 
there  will  be  kinetoscopic  and  dioramic  exhi- 
bitions of  characteristic  views  of  national  life 
and  activity  and  of  some  of  the  natural  beauty 
spots  of  the  country,  such  as  the  Iguazii 
Falls,  the  Nahuel  Huapi  and  others.  There  is 
a  Buffet  for  the  testing  and  tasting  of  exclu- 
sively Argentine  products,  whilst  other  sur- 
rounding installations  include  a  Library  of  na- 
tional authors,  a  Reading  Room,  an  Informa- 
tion Bureau,  a  Reception  Hall  and  the  various 
offices  of  the  Commission.  The  principal 
frontage  of  the  Pavilion  is  composed  of  two 
high  laterals  which  coil  on  a  central  figure 
crowned  by  a  handsome  dome  reaching  to  a 
height  of  50  meters.  Approach  is  obtained  by 
a  wide  "stoop"  which  gives  access  to  a  porch 
adorned  with  caryatides  forming  a  vestibule, 
the  porch  being  decorated  with  a  symbolic 
"vitrail"  and  enclosed  in  an  imposing  arch  21 
meters  high.  On  the  right  and  left  of  this  en- 
trance there  are  two  sculptured  plaques,  re- 
spectively,   representing    the    profiles    of    San 


52      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

Martin  and  Washington,  and  throughout  the 
graceful  halls  and  buildings,  all  designed  by 
Argentine  architects  and  constructed  by 
Argentine  workmen,  there  are  beautiful  and 
graphic  pictorial  representations  of  the  Port 
and  City  of  Buenos  Aires,  of  the  Campo  de 
Mayo,  of  the  Puerto  Militar,  of  the  Immigrant 
Hotel  and  the  natural  fields  and  forests  of 
Quebracho. 

The  main  divisions  of  Argentine  exhibits 
have  been  sub-divided  into  so  many  depart- 
ments and  classifications  as  to  render  it  dif- 
ficult within  the  necessarily  brief  limits  of  this 
work  to  describe  in  detail  the  character  of  each 
of  the  sub-divisions  and  of  the  respective 
exhibits  they  contain.  It  wiU,  therefore,  suf- 
fice for  the  object  in  view  to  furnish  merely 
an  outline  of  the  plans  adopted  by  the  Ar- 
gentine Commission  to  demonstrate  the  high 
grade  of  excellence  and  perfection  of  the  na- 
tional products  and  industries.  The  most  im- 
portant of  the  buildings  comprising  the  Ar- 
gentine section  is  the  Palace  of  Agriculture, 
which  covers  an  area  of  about  1,400  square  me- 


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H 

bd    O 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      53 

ters  and  embraces  a  collection  of  about  2,000 
samples  of  classified  products  covering  the  en- 
tire field  of  agriculture,  including  those  of  the 
crops  of  1913-1914  and  1914-1915.  In  each 
sample  of  the  collection  there  is  specified  the 
name  of  the  product,  the  weight  and  measure 
in  kilos  and  hectolitres,  the  weight  in  pounds 
per  bushel,  the  output  in  pounds  per  acre,  the 
zone  of  production,  the  name  of  the  exhibitor 
and,  in  many  cases,  indications  of  the  nature 
of  the  soil  and  other  physical  conditions.  The 
arrangement  of  the  exhibition  of  the  various 
products  has  been  moreover  much  simplified  by 
the  adoption  of  the  plan  of  enclosing  them  in 
boxes  with  glass  covers,  giving  to  each  product 
a  unit  of  measure  in  a  square  of  15  centimeters, 
thus  permitting  the  sample,  once  placed  in 
its  original  packing,  to  remain  unchanged  and 
to  be  easily  removed  and  classified,  whilst  by 
this  arrangement  space  has  been  economized 
and  facilities  given  for  the  addition  of  pho- 
tographs and  explanatory  notes  which  serve 
the  double  purpose  of  giving  useful  informa- 
tion and  decorative  efi^ect. 


54      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

Other  features  of  interest  in  this  section 
comprise  a  collection  of  tobaccos  cultivated  in 
Argentina  and  on  a  wall  of  about  3  square 
meters  In  dimension  there  Is  exhibited  a  large 
Illustration  of  a  national  tobacco  manufactory 
In  full  operation.  Considerable  attention  has 
been  devoted  to  this  particular  department, 
one  cabinet  alone  having  cost  $6,000  to  con- 
struct. In  the  section  set  apart  for  textile 
products,  there  Is  an  artistically  arranged  ex- 
hibition of  samples  of  wool  consisting  of  about 
300  separate  collections  contributed  In  more, 
or  less,  equal  proportion  by  public  bodies  and 
individual  producers.  The  beautiful  cabinet 
containing  these  samples  also  has  a  number  of 
photographic  views  relating  to  the  products 
shown  as  well  as  pictorial  reproductions  of 
sheep-shearing  and  other  mechanical  operations 
as  carried  out  on  the  larger  farms  of  the  Re- 
public. There  are  likewise  shown  here  many 
classified  samples  of  cotton  and  a  variety  of 
vegetable  fibres. 

The  collection  of  woods  and  other  forestal 
products  Is  another  centre  of  attraction  for 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      65 

visitors  and  gives  a  clear  idea  of  the  riches 
enclosed  in  Argentine  forests.  The  collection 
consists  of  upwards  of  a  thousand  samples 
representing,  in  their  varied  forms,  a  hundred 
classes  of  different  woods.  In  addition  to  the 
great  variety  of  this  exhibit,  its  interest  has 
been  added  to  by  the  contribution  of  a  number 
of  maps  and  photographic  views  by  the  Forest 
Department  of  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture. 
To  make  the  Agricultural  Section  of  the  Ar- 
gentine Republic  more  attractive  and  of  added 
practical  value,  a  number  of  the  official  De- 
partments of  the  Republic  have  contributed 
statistics,  plans  and  graphic  illustrations  per- 
taining to  the  methods  and  progress  of  this 
branch  of  industry.  The  drawings,  paintings 
and  statistics  shown  by  the  Board  of  Rural 
Economy  demonstrate  the  enormous  growth 
and  progress  made  in  this  direction,  whilst  the 
exhibits  of  the  Argentine  Meteorological  Of- 
fice and  the  National  Board  of  Agriculture  fur- 
nish every  necessary  detail  in  regard  to  cli- 
matic and  meteorological  conditions  and  the 
provision  made  against  agricultural  plagues. 


56      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

Added  to  all  this,  there  is  a  collection  of  pho- 
tographic views  relating  to  pastoral  and  agri- 
cultural production  which  may  be  considered 
to  excel  both  in  detail  and  variety. 

The  development  of  other  Argentine  national 
industries  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Palace  of  In- 
dustry, which  occupies  a  rectangular  space  of 
30  meters  frontage  by  18  deep,  on  the  Central 
Avenue.  In  this  section  are  shown  samples  of 
a  great  variety  of  articles  produced  in  the 
numerous  factories  devoted  to  the  production 
of  cloth,  shoes,  hats,  decorative  ornaments, 
electric  light  fittings,  crockery,  construction 
material,  tools,  implements,  mechanical  prod- 
ucts, glassware,  matches,  tannery,  saddlery  and 
many  others.  As  in  all  the  other  Argentine 
sections,  the  exhibition  is  made  more  complete 
by  the  display  of  splendid  photographs  which 
assist  in  demonstrating  the  rapid  advance  in 
the  number  and  character  of  Argentine  manu- 
factures. 

The  justification  of  the  description  of  the 
Argentine  Republic  as  the  "universal  provider" 
of  foodstufi's  is  to  be  found  in  the  section  as- 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      57 

signed  to  such  products,  notwithstanding  the 
absence  of  an  exhibition  of  chilled  and  frozen 
meats,  together  with  some  of  their  by-products, 
as  a  result  of  circumstances  which  have  tem- 
porarily impeded  the  operations  of  the  great 
packing  houses.  The  vast  proportions  of  this 
branch  of  industry  may  be  gathered  from  the 
admirable  collection  of  photographs  displayed* 
The  regrettable  fact  that  the  Argentine  Re- 
pubKc  is  unable  to  offer  any  practical  demon- 
stration of  its  meat-producing  capacity 
through  circumstances  over  which  neither  the 
country  nor  the  producers  had  any  control  is, 
to  some  extent,  however,  compensated  for  by 
the  large  and  interesting  exhibition  of  many  of 
its  other  leading  food  products.  The  milling 
industry  is  amply  represented  by  samples  of 
excellent  quahty  from  the  raw  material  down 
to  such  by-products  as  biscuits,  nutritious 
pastes,  sweets,  candies  and  all  the  other  arti- 
cles made  from  it.  Here  important  space  is 
also  given  to  such  articles  of  general  consump- 
tion, as  preserved  fruits,  condensed  milk,  steril- 
ized   and    antiseptic,    lard,    cheese,    conserved 


68      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

vegetables,  etc.  Beverages,  wines,  beer  and 
liqueurs  are  abundantly  represented,  whilst 
there  are  numerous  exhibits  of  other  alcoholic 
products,  oils  and  vinegars.  A  prominent  fea- 
ture of  this  section  is  the  diorama  illustrating 
field  sports  and  fishing  and  an  interesting  col- 
lection of  embalmed  animals,  particularly  birds 
and  fishes,  of  many  different  species  and  di- 
mensions. 

In  the  Mineral  and  Metallurgy  Department 
of  the  Exposition,  the  Argentine  Republic  has 
an  effective  display  of  a  general  collection  of 
minerals  and  three  special  exhibits  of  petro- 
leum and  combustibles,  borates,  salts  and  ma- 
terials for  construction.  In  regard  to  these, 
more  attention  has  been  given  to  the  object  of 
securing  typical  samples  which  demonstrate 
the  character  of  the  various  ore  deposits,  than 
to  the  consideration  of  the  actual  number  of 
samples.  In  the  collection  of  petroleum  and 
combustibles,  there  are  samples  from  the  fol- 
lowing deposits:  Commodore  Rivadavia,  La- 
guna  de  la  Brea,  Cerro  Buitres,  San  Rafael, 
Cacheta,   Covunco    (Neuquen)    Cerro   Sotena, 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      59 

Challaco,  Mina  Carmelo  (Salta),  Yacuiba, 
Garrapatal  ( Jujuy).  This  collection  contains 
39  different  samples,  with  specific  details  and 
statistics  especially  tabulated  in  every  case. 
The  exhibition  of  marbles  and  stones  for  pur- 
poses of  construction  is  most  complete.  Here 
are  to  be  seen  the  famous  marble  onyx  of  San 
Luis  and  of  San  Rafael,  the  marbles  from  the 
Sierras  of  Cordoba  (represented  by  16  varie- 
ties), and  specimens  of  the  large  granites  of 
Sierras  Bajas,  Olavarria,  etc.  There  is  also  a 
collection  of  mineral  waters  in  which  are  in- 
cluded those  mostly  used  in  the  thermal  estab- 
lishments of  Rosario  de  la  Frontera ;  whilst,  as 
a  decorative  contribution  to  the  exhibition 
there  Is  a  plastic  representation  of  the  Sierras 
of  Famatina,  showing  a  part  of  its  wonderful 
aerial  railway,  together  with  an  admirable 
series  of  photographs,  maps,  and  diagrams  em- 
bracing practically  every  branch  of  the  min- 
eral and  metallurgical  industries. 

The  designation  of  "Palace  of  Liberal  Arts" 
is  a  somewhat  inadequate  description  of  the 
Argentine  exhibits  of  Liberal  Arts  in  the  gene- 


60      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

ric  sense  of  the  words,  as,  In  addition  to  the 
branches  of  study  usually  embodied  in  that 
classification,  there  are  included  under  that 
head  many  exhibits  of  a  scientific  and  technical 
character  which,  for  the  demonstration  they 
afi^ord  of  national  progress  in  the  direction  re- 
ferred to,  might  well  have  formed  a  separate 
collection.  Here  are  to  be  seen  a  complete 
series  of  drawings,  maps,  statistics  and  plans 
of  works  graphically  depicting,  with  full  de- 
tails, the  principal  river  systems  and  general 
workings  of  the  rivers  and  ports  of  the  Re- 
public, all  prepared  by  the  Department  of  Pub- 
lic Works,  Nearly  every  technical  division  of 
the  Government  Departments  is  represented  in 
this  section,  many  of  the  exhibits  having  been 
sent  by  the  General  Board  of  Railways,  the 
Board  of  Bridges  and  Roads,  the  Board  of  Ar- 
chitecture, the  Board  of  Health,  the  Board  of 
the  Capital  and  various  Divisions  of  the  War 
Cabinet,  each  unit  containing  photographs, 
plans  and  diagrams  indicating  the  advance 
that  has  been  made  in  all  these  important  pub- 
lic works.     Amongst  other  features  of  interest 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      61 

contained  in  this  section,  special  mention 
should  be  made  of  the  representation  of  the 
National  and  Foreign  Press,  which  furnishes 
unquestionable  evidence  of  the  high  state  of 
efficiency  and  general  excellence  as  well  as  the 
enterprise  of  Argentine  journalism.  Here  also 
are  the  exhibits  of  the  literary,  scientific  and 
educational  works  produced  in  the  Republic 
and  the  contributions  of  the  National  Centre 
of  Engineers,  of  the  Argentine  Graphic  Insti- 
tute, of  the  Central  Society  of  Architecture,  of 
the  Society  of  Architects  and  Construction  of 
Works,  etc.,  etc.,  all  combining  to  illustrate 
the  high  degree  of  Argentine  progress  in  the 
field  of  Liberal  Arts* 

In  an  earlier  chapter  reference  is  made  to 
the  great  advance  made  by  the  Argentine  Re- 
public, in  recent  years,  in  the  development  of 
education,  to  which  cause  successive  Govern- 
ments have  given  ever-increasing  thought  and 
attention,  whilst  Congress  has,  year  by  year, 
sympathetically  supported  the  Government 
policy  by  augmented  money  votes  for  the  ad- 
dition to  the  number  and  the  improvement  of 


62      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

educational  institutions.  In  the  Palace  of 
Education  and  Social  Economy  which  was  vol- 
untarily accorded  a  place  of  honor  by  the  Ex- 
position Commission  amongst  the  principal 
Palaces  of  the  Fair,  there  has  been  formed  a 
collection  of  detailed  exhibits  pertaining  to  Ar- 
gentine national  education  which  points  to  the 
very  great  importance  given  to  this  subject  by 
the  authorities  of  the  Republic.  The  efforts 
of  every  official  element  in  educational  matters 
have  been  brought  into  play  with  a  result  that 
leaves  no  doubt,  either  as  to  the  desire  for,  or 
the  standard  of  culture  in  the  Argentine  Re- 
public. This  exhibition,  moreover,  is  not  only 
an  effective  exponent  of  national  progress  but 
will  also  serve  to  remove  an  easily  understood, 
though  generally  prevaihng  ignorance  in  many 
foreign  countries  of  true  conditions  in  Argen- 
tina. In  order  to  add  perfect  completeness  to 
the  educational  exhibits,  a  new  departure  has 
been  made  to  show  full  details  of  every  branch 
of  teaching,  official  and  private,  primary,  sec- 
ondary, university,  commercial,  industrial, 
agricultural,    professional,    etc.,    etc.,    for    all 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      63 

classes  and  ages,  by  means  of  plans,  statistics 
and  some  6,000  photographs  representing  150 
leading  institutions  and  upwards  of  100,000 
students  and  pupils  whose  physical  character- 
istics at  once  reveal  the  predomination  of  the 
higher  European  types.  As  may  be  imagined, 
these  illustrations  represent  the  scholarly  ac- 
tivities of  the  country  in  their  widest  aspect 
and  are  not  merely  photographs  of  special 
groups  of  children  such  as  are  frequently 
shown  in  educational  exhibitions.  The  statis- 
tics, which  form  an  instructive  addition  to  the 
pictorial  matter,  have  been  so  compiled  and 
tabulated  as  to  make  their  full  value  and  sig- 
nificance easy  of  comprehension  and  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  those  which  ac- 
company the  illustrations  of  the  agricultural 
sections  and  experimental  stations  will  be  of 
special  interest  to  the  majority  of  American 
visitors  to  the  Exposition* 

In  regard  to  the  group  of  exhibits  corre- 
sponding to  the  section  of  Social  Economy  con- 
tained in  the  same  artistically  arranged  build- 
ing, much  detail  Is  furnished  concerning  many 


64      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

of  the  social  and  charitable  institutions  of  the 
Republic,  In  reference  to  which  there  is  an  ab- 
sence of  information  abroad.  The  co-operation 
of  the  Argentine  Social  Museum  and  other  im- 
portant public  bodies  has  enabled  the  Commis- 
sion to  present  a  comprehensive  exhibition  of 
views  and  of  the  methods  of  operation  of  the 
various  national  Associations  established,  as 
asylums,  refuges,  hospitals,  poor-houses  and 
other  organizations  for  the  protection  of  women 
and  children  and  for  the  prevention  of  crime, 
as  well  as  demonstrations  of  the  work  per- 
formed by  these  bodies,  some  of  which  also 
have  for  their  purpose  the  extension  of  social 
improvement,  of  public  order,  economy,  hy- 
giene, labor,  the  construction  of  dwellings  and 
other  objects  of  public  advantage.  In  this 
section  there  is  also  an  exhibition  of  works  of 
arts  produced  by  Argentine  artists  embracing 
a  careful  selection  of  paintings  and  examples 
of  sculpture  representative  and  characteristic, 
in  every  sense,  of  national  art ;  and  with  a  view 
to  demonstrating  the  artistic  progress  of  the 
country,  this  collection  is  made  up  of  only  re- 


SARMIENTO    SCHOOL,    BUENOS    AIRES 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      65 

cent  works,  not  one  of  which  has  previously 
been  shown  in  any  foreign  Exposition^ 

This  shadowy  outline  of  the  nature  and  qual- 
ity of  the  Argentine  exhibits  at  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Exposition,  though  utterly  incomplete 
as  a  description  of  their  Importance  and  value, 
will  convey  a  general  idea  of  the  position  atr- 
taiaed  by  the  Argentine  Republic  in  all  those 
moral  and  material  factors  which  go  to  make 
up  a  great  nation ;  and  if  to  these  elements  are 
added  the  initiative  and  beneficial  labors  of  Ar- 
gentina in  the  international  sphere,  a  sense  of 
pride  should  be  awakened  in  the  hearts  of  all 
Americans  that  in  the  arts  of  peace,  the  widely 
separated,  though  great,  countries  of  the 
American  Continent,  stand  out  as  shining  ex- 
amples, worthy  of  emulation  even  by  many 
countries  of  the  old  world. 

INTEECHANGE     OF    COMMEItCE 

In  1895  the  exports  from  the  United  States 
to  the  Argentine  Repubhc  amounted  in  value 
to  $6,686,999  and  the  imports  from  that  coun- 
try to  $8,947,165.     In  1912  the  exports  from 


66      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

the  United  States  amounted  to  $53,158,179 
and  the  imports  to  $29,847,016.  These  figures 
sufficiently  indicate  the  results  likely  to  follow 
the  active  campaign  of  the  manufacturers  and 
commercial  bodies  in  this  country,  recently  in- 
itiated as  a  consequence  of  the  war.  The  con- 
ditions arising  out  of  the  great  upheaval 
caused  by  that  world  disaster  have  furnished 
the  occasion  for  the  exercise  of  an  effort  with- 
out parallel  in  the  United  States  in  any  previ- 
ous attempt  to  secure  a  larger  share  of  South 
American  trade.  In  this  movement  the  Argen- 
tine Republic  must  necessarily  be  the  main  ob- 
jective, owing  to  the  vastness  of  its  resources 
and  commercial  activities.  Yet,  although 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  United  States  should 
and  will  constitute  a  still  greater  source  of 
supply  to  that  country  of  manufactured  prod- 
ucts, machinery  and  other  articles,  not  only 
during  the  war,  but  for  a  long  period  after  its 
close,  it  is  necessary  to  consider  that  in  order 
to  secure  a  permanent  extension  of  interna- 
tional trade  upon  a  scale  of  magnitude  appar- 
ently justified  by  superficial  conditions,  seri- 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      67 

ous  attention  should  be  given  to  matters  of 
reciprocal  interests  and  the  past  relations  of 
the  Argentine  Republic  with  the  European 
countries  to  which  it  has  freely  opened  its 
markets. 

In  this  connection  the  words  ^^reciprocal  in- 
terests" must  be  taken  rather  in  a  literal  sense 
than  in  the  sense  of  reciprocity,  as  that  expres- 
sion is  usually  understood  when  applied  to  in- 
ternational treaties.  Even  though  the  ques- 
tion of  tariffs  does  not  now  form  so  insuperable 
an  obstacle  to  a  large  interchange  of  commerce 
between  the  two  countries  as  was  formerly  the 
case,  the  fact  that  the  balance  of  Argentine's 
trade  with  the  leading  countries  of  Europe  has 
always  been  in  her  favor,  renders  it  a  condi- 
tion precedent  to  a  permanent  expansion  of 
international  commerce  that  there  must  be  a 
greater  quality  of  interest  than  exists  at  pres- 
ent. In  other  words,  the  United  States  must 
offer  corresponding  advantages  to  the  Argen- 
tine Republic  to  attract  a  transfer  of  a  con- 
siderable share  of  her  commerce  from  Euro- 
pean competitors. 


68      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

In  the  instances  of  Great  Britain,  Germany 
and  France,  with  which  countries  the  Argen- 
tine Republic  has  always  transacted  the 
greater  part  of  her  foreign  trade,  there  has 
not  only  been  a  steady  and  ever-increasing 
growth  in  the  consumption  of  Argentine  na- 
tional products,  but  those  countries  have  like- 
wise furnished  huge  amounts  of  capital  for  the 
establishment  on  Argentine  soil  of  industrial 
and  commercial  undertakings,  which,  by  their 
own  necessities,  create  a  natural  extension  of 
commercial  interchange.  It  must  also  be  re- 
membered that  the  main  products  of  the  Ar- 
gentine Republic  are  also  the  main  products 
of  the  United  States,  where  they  are  protected 
by  High  Tariffs,  whereas,  in  Great  Britain, 
which  is  Argentina's  principal  customer,  there 
are  no  duties  ui>on  the  imports  of  foodstuffs. 
In  these  circumstances  it  is  obvious  that  some 
means  must  be  found  whereby  the  interests  of 
Argentina  in  her  commercial  relations  with  the 
United  States  must  be  made  more  reciprocal, 
either  by  the  introduction  of  American  capital 
for  the  development  of  local  industries,  or  by 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC       69 

the  remission,  at  least,  of  a  substantial  portion 
of  the  duties  now  imposed  upon  Argentine  ex- 
ports to  the  United  States. 

The  enormous  growth  of  population  which 
has  changed  the  position  of  the  United  States 
from  an  exporting  to  a  consuming  country,  so 
far  as  foodstuffs  are  concerned,  will,  doubtless, 
in  course  of  time,  considerably  ameliorate  the 
restrictive  conditions  which  have  heretofore 
operated  as  a  barrier  to  large  exports  of  Ar- 
gentine products  to  this  country.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  production  of  the  Argentine 
Republic,  by  reason  of  the  largely  increased 
area  placed  under  cultivation  year  after  year, 
maintains  her  exporting  capacity  at  a  con- 
stantly higher  level.  Thus,  given  equal  con- 
ditions in  other  respects,  the  United  States 
might  ultimately  become  as  free  a  market  for 
Argentina's  meat  and  grain  as  any  of  the  coun- 
tries of  Europe.  Under  similar  circumstances 
as  those  indicated,  there  could  also  be  infinitely 
larger  imports  of  raw  material  which  could 
subsequently  be  re-sold  to  the  Argentine  Re- 
public in  manufactured  form. 


70      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

The  countries  which  have  hitherto  occupied 
the  first  place  in  Argentine  foreign  trade  are 
those  which  not  only  gave  initial  impulse  to  the 
development  of  national  industries  by  the 
founding  of  banks  and  the  construction  of  rail- 
ways, but  likewise  by  the  creation  of  adequate 
steamship  services.  There  are  to-day  upwards 
of  33,000  kilometers  of  railway  in  operation 
in  the  Republic,  with  an  aggregate  capital  of 
considerably  over  $2,000,000,000,  more  than 
90  per  cent,  of  which  is  entirely  British,  whilst 
the  oversea  communications  are  conducted  by 
regular  and  rapid  services  of  steamships  fly- 
ing the  flags  of  the  maritime  countries  of 
Europe.  The  great  traction  companies  in  the 
capital  and  the  provinces  are  British ;  the  street 
electric  railways  established  on  an  important 
scale  throughout  the  Republic  are  British;  the 
foremost  Light  and  Power  concerns  are  Ger- 
man; with  the  exception  of  the  National  Bank 
of  the  Republic  and  the  branch  of  the  National 
City  Bank  of  New  York  recently  opened,  the 
banking  interests  are  largely  European,  whilst 
the  great  majority  of  the  principal  industrial 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      71 

and  commercial  enterprises  are  also  European. 
Of  the  $400,000,000  of  the  Argentine  External 
Debt,  practically  the  whole  of  the  issues  mak- 
ing up  this  vast  sum  are  in  the  hands  of  Euro- 
pean investors  and,  in  normal  times,  as  further 
capital  is  called  for  to  meet  the  requirements 
of  any  of  the  established  enterprises,  or  of 
others  formed  on  similar  lines,  it  is  invariably 
forthcoming  from  Europe;  and  to  these  ad- 
vantages which  the  Argentine  Republic  enjoys 
in  her  commercial  relations  with  the  older  coun- 
tries, there  is  the  additional  fact  that  she  de- 
rives aU  her  immigration  from  northern  and 
southern  Europe. 

Let  us  now  examine  the  American  interests, 
the  most  encouraging  features  of  which  are  the 
establishment  of  a  branch  bank  of  the  National 
City  Bank  of  New  York  and  the  imqualified 
success  in  the  United  States  of  the  loans  re- 
cently made  by  that  enterprising  institution 
and  other  American  bankers  to  the  Argentine 
Republic.  These  two  factors  point  to  the  re- 
alization, by  those  who  are  best  able  to  judge, 
of  the  necessity  for  a  new  basis  of  intercourse 


72      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

in  the  future ;  and  that  this  fact  Is  understood 
in  the  Argentine  Republic  may  be  seen  by  the 
appreciative  opinions  of  the  press  and  the  pub- 
lic authorities  of  that  country.  In  other  forms 
of  industrial  or  commercial  enterprises,  Ameri- 
can interests  are  comparatively  insignificant. 
The  acquisition  and  establishment  of  local 
freezing  plants  by  the  American  packing 
houses,  though  important  in  extent,  involve 
considerations  of  too  controversial  a  character 
to  be  dealt  with  in  this  survey  of  the  commer- 
cial relations  of  the  two  countries.  It  is  con- 
sidered desirable,  therefore,  to  treat  only  of 
such  branches  of  industry,  commerce  and 
finance  as  embrace  the  general  field  of  foreign 
enterprise.  The  only  American  interest  in 
railways  is  in  the  Argentine  Railway  Company, 
which  consists  of  a  combination  of  three  or 
four  minor  lines  in  the  north  and  north-eastern 
provinces,  with  a  small  proportion  of  American 
capital.  In  the  great  cattle  raising  and  agri- 
cultural industries  there  is  little  or  no  Ameri- 
can capital  employed  and  it  is  also  conspicu- 
ous by  its   absence  from  the  lengthy  list  of 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      73 

land,  mortgage  and  finance  companies  estab- 
lished in  the  Republic.  It  is  true  that  there 
are  many  manufacturing  concerns  of  the 
United  States  represented  by  agencies,  but 
apart  from  the  Customs  revenue  this  repre- 
sentation brings  to  the  country  it  is  in  no  sense 
a   contributor   to   its    development. 

An  impartial  examination  of  these  circum-* 
stances  raises  the  question  as  to  how,  with- 
out some  changes  in  the  directions  pointed  tOy 
the  United  States  may  hope  to  share  with 
Europe,  on  anything  like  equal  terms,  the 
profitable  and  ever-growing  trade  of  the  Ar- 
gentine Republic?  To  sum  up  the  situation, 
it  may  be  asked,  in  what  way  can  the  United 
States  equalize  the  advantages  which  Europe 
offers  to  the  Argentine  Republic  by  way  of 
the  purchase  of  her  products,  the  large  and 
constant  supply  of  capital  and  the  labor  of  its 
emigrants.''  There  are  many  articles  of  mer-^ 
chandise  and  items  of  machinery  in  regard  to 
which  Europe  cannot  successfully  compete 
with  the  United  States,  notwithstanding  the 
greater  facilities  for  transportation;  but  there 


74      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

are  also  numberless  articles  of  American  pro- 
duction which  could  find  a  ready  market  in 
Argentine  if  the  surrounding  conditions  ap- 
proached a  greater  measure  of  equality. 

An  analysis  of  the  figures  of  the  foreign 
trade  of  the  Argentine  Republic  for  the  past 
twenty  years  establishes  the  fact  that  the 
United  States  is  in  a  position  to  suc- 
cessfully compete  with  Europe  in  many 
lines  far  beyond  the  limits  already  reached; 
and  there  is  certainly  no  lack  of  effort  or  incli- 
nation on  the  part  of  American  manufacturers 
to  enter  into  such  competition.  It  is  there- 
fore reasonable  to  assume  that  there  are  other 
causes  operating  to  check  a  growth  in  the 
volume  of  American  trade  with  the  Argentine 
Republic. 

There  are  no  laws  in  the  Argentine  Repub- 
lic, either  of  a  fiscal  or  domestic  nature,  which 
are  calculated  to  affect  ruling  market  prices, 
or  which  admit  of  inequality  of  treatment. 
Tariffs  are  based  upon  a  reciprocal  policy,  the 
tariff  laws  of  the  Argentine  Republic  being 
so  framed  as  to  permit  the  Executive  to  re- 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      75 

lax  and  reduce  in  favor  of  those  countries 
which  accord  similar  treatment  to  her  national 
products.  Credits  are  intrinsically  sound  and 
in  ordinary  periods  are  usually  regulated  with 
foreign  countries  by  purchase  at  ninety,  or  one 
hundred-and-twenty  days'  sight  drafts.  In  the 
discussion  of  this  point  it  may  also  be  urged 
that  the  statements  so  generally  made  in  re- 
gard to  the  alleged  long  credit  demanded  by 
Argentine  buyers  owe  their  origin  to  the  con- 
ditions prevailing  in  regard  to  shipping  mat- 
ters in  days  gone  by,  when  the  steamship  ser- 
vices between  North  and  South  America  were 
more  irregular  and  far  less  rapid  than  is  the 
case  to-day.  It  was  no  fault  of  the  Argen- 
tine importer  that  merchandise  was  frequently 
tied  up  for  weeks  together  in  an  American 
port  and  that  the  trip  took  much  longer  than 
it  now  does.     Yet,  those  delays  caused  the  ex- 

4 

porter  to  wait  weeks  and  frequently  months 
longer  than  was  necessary  to  receive  his  money. 
Hence,  the  currency  of  the  statement  that 
long  credit  is  an  indispensable  condition  to 
trading  with  Argentine.     At  the  present  mo- 


76      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

ment  the  Argentine  Republic  is  gradually  re- 
covering from  the  effects  of  a  financial  and 
commercial  crisis  brought  about  through  con- 
ditions which  it  had  no  power  to  change ;  and, 
in  order  to  secure  immediate  results,  it  may  be 
necessary  at  the  present  time  to  extend  the 
customary  terms  of  credit,  but  this  may  be  done 
with  perfect  safety  and  with  commensurate 
profit  if  the  exporter  avails  himself  of  the 
services  created  by  the  National  City  Bank  of 
New  York  and  others  for  the  investigation  of 
prospective  buyers. 

Irrespective,  however,  of  all  other  conditions, 
satisfactory  banking  and  shipping  facilities 
are  essential  requirements  of  an  extended  com- 
merce between  the  United  States  and  the  Ar- 
gentine Republic.  The  establishment  of  an 
American  bank  has  paved  the  way  for  the  r&» 
moval  of  many  of  the  difficulties  hitherto  im- 
posed on  the  American  exporter,  but  there  still 
remains  the  important  question  of  ocean  trans- 
port. The  service  of  steamships  now  in  regu- 
lar operation  between  North  and  South  Ameri- 
can ports  is  wholly  inadequate  to  support  a 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      77 

rapidly  developing  trade  unless  the  ships  now 
running  are  substituted  by  vessels  of  adequate 
speed  and  capacity.  To  secure  this  object 
some  provision  would  have  to  be  made  to  cover 
the  increased  cost  of  construction  and  of  opera- 
tion of  the  larger  vessels  and  also  to  overcome 
the  difficulty  of  return  cargoes.  Practically 
all  of  the  European  steamships  trading  with 
South  America  carry  full  return  cargoes,  but 
owing  to  the  reasons  already  given  and  prin- 
cipally because  of  the  fact  that  the  shipments 
from  Argentina  to  the  United  States  are  at 
present  limited  to  a  small  number  of  products, 
the  services  established  between  North  and 
South  America  cannot  compete  in  the  matter 
of  freight  until  they  are  placed  on  a  similar 
footing  as  the  European  lines  in  regard  to  re- 
turn cargoes,  which,  under  existing  conditions, 
are  unavailable  and  must  remain  so  until  either 
the  laws  or  the  needs  of  the  United  States  will 
permit  of  larger  and  more  general  imports 
from  the  Argentine  Republic. 

The  figures  already  given  in  the  relation  to 
the  trade  of  the  United  States  with  the  Ar- 


78      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

gentlne  Republic  show  a  considerable  balance, 
almost  amounting  to  forty  per  cent  in  favor 
of  the  former.  Now  let  us  see  what  are  the 
proportions  of  Argentine  trade  with  some  of 
the  countries  of  Europe.  Argentine  imports 
from  the  United  Kingdom  in  1912  amounted 
to  $118,669,226,  and  her  exports  to  $121,- 
373,358.  In  the  same  year  her  exports  to 
Grermany  amounted  to  $53,995,175,  and  her 
imports  to  $63,941,503.  To  France  the  ex- 
ports were  valued  at  $36,052,009,  and  her  im- 
ports $37,618,578.  To  Belgium  her  exports 
totalled  $37,258,225,  and  her  imports  $20,- 
370,530.  These  figures  speak  for  themselves 
and  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  other  solid 
inducements  offered  by  the  countries  of  Europe 
in  return  for  the  benefits  of  a  larger  trade  with 
the  Argentine  Republic,  should  form  a  subject 
for  serious  consideration  in  the  effort  to  se- 
cure for  the  United  States  a  proportionate 
share  of  Argentine  commerce. 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      79 

THE  CITY  OF  BUENOS  AIEES 

Favored  by  nature  and  by  the  conditions 
under  which  it  was  founded,  the  City  of  Buenos 
Aires  from  its  earliest  days  has  been  endowed 
with  elements  which  have  considerably  influ- 
enced the  vast  growth  and  development  that 
have  made  it  the  leading  Latin  city  of  the  new 
world.  Situated  on  the  banks  of  the  River 
Plate  and  at  the  gateway  of  the  Atlantic,  na- 
ture has  largely  contributed  towards  making 
it  a  great  commercial  centre.  At  the  time  of 
its  foundation,  it  attracted  but  few  of  the  ad- 
venturers, who,  in  their  quest  of  gold,  migrated 
to  other  parts  of  South  America,  the  wealth 
of  the  soil  and  the  abundance  of  the  flocks  and 
herds  having  brought  to  its  shores  a  less  tur- 
bulent and  more  laborious  class  of  immigrants 
who  sought  a  new  home  and  a  new  outlet  for 
their  activities  in  the  "City  of  Good  Airs." 
The  pure  European  origin  and  the  commercial 
spirit  of  the  new  inhabitants  soon  produced 
changes  in  pre-existing  conditions  and  in  mark- 
ing out  the  path   for  the  present  Argentine 


«0      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

metropolis  to  become  the  hub  of  South  Amer- 
ica. Founded  in  1535  by  Pedro  de  Mendoza, 
and  subsequently  destroyed  and  twice  depopu- 
lated, the  modern  rise  of  the  capital  of  what 
is  now  the  Argentine  Republic  may  be  said  to 
date  from  18£4,  after  the  formulation  of  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  and  the  recognition  of  the 
independence  of  the  people  of  Buenos  Aires  by 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  At  about 
that  time  efforts  were  initiated  to  provide  the 
means  of  facilitating  the  transport  of  its  prod- 
ucts to  foreign  markets  and  in  order  to  estab- 
lish the  necessary  facilities  for  that  purpose, 
Buenos  Aires  raised  (in  England)  its  first  loan 
of  $5,000,000.  To  that  comparatively  small 
financial  transaction  may  be  traced  the  reasons 
for  the  enormous  investment  of  foreign  capital 
— chiefly  British — ^which  has  since  enabled  the 
country  to  serve  humanity  by  the  increasing 
development  of  its  numerous  sources  of  wealth. 
Following  this  preliminary  introduction  of  for- 
eign capital,  there  was  established  a  regular 
line  of  sailing  packets  between  Buenos  Aires 
and  Montevideo  and,  later,  a  line  of  steamers 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      81 

between  Buenos  Aires  and  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
which  progressive  measures  were  added  to  an 
official  bank  and,  within  the  next  thirty  years,  a 
line  of  railway  extending  in  a  westerly  direction 
from  the  capitaL 

These  were  the  beginnings  of  the  evolution 
of  modern  Buenos  Aires,  which  now  properly 
ranks  as  the  second  Latin  city  of  the  world. 
Nor  is  it  by  any  means  alone  to  material  prog- 
ress that  the  City  of  Buenos  Aires  owes  its 
present  proud  position.  The  spirit  and  quali- 
ties of  its  early  founders  are  manifested  to-day 
in  the  outward  expression  of  all  the  attributes 
of  a  highly  civilized  and  enlightened  commu- 
nity. The  architecture  and  adornments  of  the 
city,  the  culture,  education  and  manners  of 
the  inhabitants,  their  inborn  courtesy  and  gen- 
erous instincts  combine  to  explain  the  admira- 
tion which  an  who  visit  the  city  never  fail  to 
entertain  and  express.  The  cosmopolitan 
character  of  the  population,  the  palatial  resi- 
dences— ^the  broad  and  spacious  avenues,  muse- 
ums, libraries,  art  galleries  and  other  immis- 
takable  signs  of  the  high  degree  of  culture  of 


82      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

the  citizens,  fully  justify  the  description  of 
Buenos  Aires  as  the  Paris  of  the  western  hemi- 
sphere. 

Originally  built  up  on  Spanish  lines  of  sin- 
gle-story houses  and  narrow  streets,  the  mason 
has  been  superseded  by  the  architect  and  many 
of  the  old  narrow  thoroughfares  by  wide  and 
beautiful  avenues  intersecting  the  central  por- 
tions of  the  city.  The  domestic  architecture 
of  the  time  of  Rozas  was  gradually  suc- 
ceeded by  the  introduction  of  the  architectural 
beauty  of  the  period  of  the  Renaissance  and 
subsequently  by  the  various  Grecian  orders,  cul- 
minating in  the  advent  of  European  architects 
and  artists  who  evolved  many  unique  and  dis- 
tinct styles  which  are  to-day  illustrated  in 
a  nimiber  of  the  imposing  and  artistic 
edifices  that  adorn  the  city  and,  with 
the  surrounding  parks,  trees,  gardens,  flower- 
beds and  running  waters,  both  in  the  centre 
and  in  the  suburbs,  reveal  a  panorama  of  un- 
surpassing  beauty.  Many  of  the  ancient 
houses  with  flat  roofs  and  severely  sim- 
ple  fafades  have  been  substituted  by  highly 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      83 

ornamented  dwellings  of  two,  three,  or  more 
stories;  and,  with  a  desire  to  add  to  the  em- 
bellishment of  the  city,  the  Municipality  offers 
a  gold  medal  and  a  diploma  to  the  architect, 
and  an  immunity  from  payment  of  the  building 
tax  to  the  owner,  of  the  building  for  the  most 
artistic  fa9ade,  the  jury  being  composed  of 
representatives  of  different  bodies  exercising 
authority  in  relation  to  such  matters  as  ar- 
chitecture, surveys,  public  works,  engineering 
and  fine  arts.  By  the  employment  of  these 
methods,  Buenos  Aires,  in  recent  years,  has 
made  notable  advance  in  architecture,  not  only 
in  regard  to  private  dwellings,  but  also  in  its 
public  buildings  and  the  unquestionable  in- 
crease in  number  and  quality  of  the  monuments, 
statues,  and  sculptural  groups  dotted  over 
every  part  of  the  city.  During  the  last  twenty 
years  there  have  been  constructed  new  avenues 
and  thoroughfares  of  great  width  and  length 
lined  by  handsome  buildings,  paved  with  as- 
phalt and  lighted  with  huge  electric  globes, 
whilst  the  Municipality  has  spared  no  expense 
in  widening  many  existing  streets  to  meet  the* 


84      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

growing  demands  of  the  population  and  to  give 
more  light  and  air  to  quarters  of  the  city  which 
are  densely  inhabited. 

The  aesthetic  side  of  the  city  of  Buenos 
Aires  is  to  be  found  in  its  splendid  museums, 
art  galleries  and  public  and  private  libraries, 
of  which  there  are  many  of  unquestionable 
merit.  Amongst  these,  special  mention  should 
be  made  of  the  Natural  History  Museum, 
which  is  of  great  interest  from  the  point  of 
view  of  educational  value  and  intellectual  prog- 
ress. The  Zoological,  Botanical,  Mineral, 
Archeological  and  Ethnographical  specimens, 
numbering  many  thousands,  have  been  classified 
on  a  scientific  basis  by  eminent  authorities 
over  a  period  of  many  years  and  form  a  col- 
lection of  objects  and  curiosities  of  nature  un- 
excelled for  their  variety  and  interest.  The 
National  Historical  Museum  possesses  a  col- 
lection of  historic  trophies  and  works,  manu- 
scripts, ancient  coins  and  other  objects,  over 
4,000  in  number.  Here  are  also  halls  and  gal- 
leries, containing  portraits  of  the  Viceroys, 
pictures  of  naval  and  military  battles,  trophies 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      85 

of  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  the  room  in 
which  San  Martin  lived  and  died,  furniture, 
uniforms,  arms,  decorations  and  a  variety  of 
other  articles  of  great  historic  interest.  On 
the  same  order  and  limited  to  its  expressed 
purpose,  there  is  a  Museum  of  Arms  which 
contains  a  collection  of  weapons  with  records 
of  their  authenticity  attached.  In  this  col- 
lection there  are  many  specimens  of  rare 
weapons  and  accoutrements  of  different  pe- 
riods ranging  from  the  fourteenth  to  the  eigh- 
teenth centuries.  There  are,  besides,  many 
flags  and  other  articles  associated  with  the 
wars  of  different  periods.  Of  much  more  re- 
cent date  and,  perhaps,  also  of  greater  prac- 
tical interest,  is  the  Natural  Agricultural  Mu- 
seum, the  objects  of  which  are  to  promote  the 
knowledge  of  agriculture  by  instructive  ex- 
hibits and  to  demonstrate  the  measures  best 
adapted  to  the  scientific  method3  of  cultiva- 
tion and  to  overcome  the  natural  drawbacks  be- 
setting that  branch  of  national  industry.  The 
collection  comprises  upwards  of  twenty  thou- 


86      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

sand  specimens  of  agricultural  products  of 
every  description  as  well  as  statistics  and  in- 
formation pertaining  to   rural  economy. 

The  libraries  of  the  city  are  both  extensive 
and  numerous  and  contain  in  addition  to  mod- 
ern works  of  importance  in  different  languages 
bibliographical  treasures  of  different  periods 
representing  the  world's  various  cycles  of 
literature. 

The  public  and  private  art  galleries  of  the 
city  with  their  varied  collections  embrace  a 
great  number  of  old  masters  and  of  modern 
productions  in  painting,  sculpture,  pottery, 
engraving  and  every  form  of  art  representing 
all  known  periods  and  all  nations.  First 
amongst  these  exhibitions  is  the  Museum  of  Fine 
Arts,  which  contains  a  number  of  important 
works  collected  and  arranged  with  great  skiU 
and  taste,  whilst  many  of  the  private  galleries 
have  been  especially  erected  in  the  palaces  of 
wealthy  residents  for  the  purpose  of  housing 
some  of  the  priceless  objects  which  are  to  be 
found  in  the  capital  of  the  Argentine  Republic. 

A  feature  of  striking  interest  in  the  life  of 


THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC      87 

Buenos  Aires  is  the  number  and  excellence  of 
the  many  hospitals,  asylums  and  other  chari- 
table organizations  established  to  provide  for 
the  afflicted  and  poorer  classes  of  the  commu- 
nity. Apart  from  those  endowed  by  the  vari- 
ous foreign  colonies  residing  in  the  city,  the 
majority  of  these  institutions  are  largely  sup- 
ported by  State  aid  in  form  of  appropriation 
or  specific  revenues.  On  the  other  hand,  vast 
sums  are  privately  subscribed  to  those  not  en- 
tirely of  an  official  character. 

As  a  great  commercial  centre,  the  aspect 
and  movement  of  the  city  are  equally  striking. 
The  port,  docks,  railroad  depots,  wharves, 
warehouses,  street  railways,  lighting  and  other 
signs  of  industrial  activity  abound  in  every  di- 
rection and  make  Buenos  Aires  to  the  Argen- 
tine Republic  what  New  York  is  to  the  United 
States.  It  is,  moreover,  the  principal  mart  for 
the  agricultural  and  pastoral  products  of 
many  of  the  leading  ranches  of  the  Republic 
and  draws  to  its  periodical  sales  of  wool,  hides, 
cattle  and  sheep,  buyers  from  many  foreign 
countries. 


88      THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 

Buenos  Aires,  like  many  other  great  capi- 
tals, IS  confronted  with  the  difficulty  of  a  con- 
gestion of  traffic  owing  to  the  large  increase 
of  population  and  the  narrowness  of  the 
streets  in  the  older  sections  of  the  city,  but  this 
problem  is  being  gradually  solved  by  the  con- 
struction of  new  broad  diagonal  avenues  and 
by  the  building  of  subways  which  are  now  being 
rapidly  extended.  With  all  these  evidences 
of  progress  on  every  side,  it  will  not  be  a 
surprising  revelation  to  add  that  Buenos  Aires 
possesses  some  of  the  greatest  newspapers, 
one  of  the  finest  Opera  Houses  and  the 
finest  Club  Houses  in  the  world.  There  are 
other  large  and  flourishing  cities  in  the  Repub- 
lic, such  as  Rosario,  Santa  Fe,  Cordova,  La 
Plata  (capital  of  the  province  of  Buenos 
Aires)  and  Bahia  Blanca,  but  the  City  of 
Buenos  Aires  is  the  brain  and  heart  of  the  Re- 
public and  must  always  maintain  its  supremacy 
as  the  leading  metropolis  of  Latin  America. 


END 


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